We had just gotten on the short line outside the ice cream parlor. Two couples ahead of us. I felt the presence of a person behind me and turned around to see an older man without a mask — it was on his chin — uncomfortably close to me.

As I turned to look forward and considered whether to say anything, a man ahead of me turned and called out “How about your mask ? It doesn’t help on your chin.”

The man behind me fixed his mask to cover his mouth and nose and started to grumble “Little man, little man” apparently referencing the man in front who had confronted him about the mask. Things escalated as the man behind stepped out of line and called out “Little Man” as he walked forward seemingly inviting a confrontation. The man in front shouted an obscenity in conjunction with “don’t come near me”. The one behind retreated and announced that he was calling the police. He left the line, presumably to get his phone.

The man ahead of us told us that he has lost his business partner to the virus in April.
I’m not sure what set off the man behind me. Perhaps he didn’t like being told ... or the tone.
I’m not sure whether the man could have been reminded in a gentler way. As Rona pointed out in her blog last week, Words and tone are important.

It used to be about "cutting the line" that caused altercations --  but these are different times.