As 2023 holidays dawn, face masks have settled in as an occasional feature of the American landscape

ABC ^ | 12/16/23 | DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press

[DallasBiff]

NEW YORK -- The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather.

There are people — lots of people. But look around, and it's clear one thing is largely absent these days: face masks.

Yes, there's the odd one here and there, but nothing like it was three years ago at the dawn of the COVID pandemic's first winter holidays — an American moment of contentiousness, accusation and scorn on both sides of the mask debate.

[Cobra64]

Those of us who do not trust the federal government never succumbed to the scamdemic. Rarely masks due to necessity to buy food, and no COVID or flu clot shots.