SARS: It's in the Eyes

When a majority of people in a city wear surgical masks, eye contact is forced if you want to communicate.

Facial expressions aren't easy to read, but if one pays attention, a wide range of emotions can be interpreted from people's eyes. The adage that the eyes are the windows of the soul has never been more apt. Adding dark sunglasses to a mask would be like pulling the shades down, rendering a person indecipherable.

When people look at each other, they make eye contact for a moment and then break away, otherwise it becomes uncomfortable. However, I've noticed an increase in the number of women flirting with me because of the increased length of eye contact.

When I see someone with fetching orbs, I'm dying of curiosity. I want to know what the rest of her face looks like. Not that anything would come of it, since I'm a married man, but it's a fun game to play.

Trying to work out what a person's face might look like when all I have to go on are a set of eyes and the shape of the face is the equivalent of trying to guess what a radio DJ looks like based on her voice. The few times I've seen someone remove her mask, she didn't look like I thought she would.

The game takes the edge off living with SARS. The masks may cover the face, but they can't hide the person.

The essence is in the eyes.

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