Don Q very much

Peggy and I are friends with a woman who said some wise things in her day. One of them, and I'll paraphrase, was that "if there is more of you than there is bathing suit, go up a size."  This was in reference to those who had a lot spilling over the dam, as it were.

And another time she said words that I have quoted a thousand times, and I will do so verbatim here:

"Some people, if they don't have enough drama in their lives, go out and make more drama for themselves"

The latest case involves this fellow up in Harford County, one Daniel Swain, from Fallston. He was arrested after refusing to wear a mask to vote at the Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company the other day. 

It was the first day of early voting, and the place was packed, as all the early voting locations have been. Swain, 53, showed up to vote with his 22-year-old son, and would not cover his face as required by the governor's mandate for all people over the age of 5 to wear a face covering indoors in public places.

Deputies were sent to the Jarrettsville fire house at 2:46 p.m. on Monday after election officials reported two people were refusing to cover their mugs. 

Recognizing that some people would throw up objections to wearing a mask to protect others while voting, the state put alternate plans in place. So, officials gave Swain, who retired this year as a captain at the Baltimore County Detention Center, a chance to step outside to an outdoor booth to vote.

By this time, three officers had been taken away from important patrol duties to deal with this insanity. There is no record of Swain being either an attorney or a law enforcement officer, but nevertheless, he persisted. He told three officers that the request that he follow the governor's lawful order was “unconstitutional," claiming that Maryland law allowed people to vote indoors without face masks, according to the police report.

The debate raged for another half an hour, with Swain refusing exhortations from the police and the election officials to don a mask. At length, the two men were asked to leave the firehouse. Swain’s son complied. Swain did not. 

He was charged with trespassing on private property and failure to comply with a health emergency, per court records.

"Deputies worked to resolve the situation for nearly 30 minutes. At that time, one man complied and left the premises," the Harford County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "However, Mr. Swain made the choice to continue to refuse to comply directives given by the Election Judge. When it was clear there were no other options, Mr. Swain was placed under arrest."

Released on his own recognizance, Swain faces trial on December 4 in Harford County District Court.

The Sheriff's Office added, "It is worth noting, Mr. Swain was not banned from the location, and is still able to cast his ballot." 

"Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler has been very clear that deputies would handle reported mask violations through education and would not be making arrests or issuing criminal citations solely for refusing to follow the Governors' order on wearing masks," the sheriff's office reported. "However; if a private property owner, store manager, or in this case, Election Official needed assistance in having a person vacate a premise, we would enforce a trespassing violation. That is exactly what occurred in the following incident. While the polls are open to the public, they are subject to compliance with the rules and regulations set forth by the Board of Elections and the Governor of Maryland."

I don't know this man, although we both get our pension checks from the same munificent source. But I do know that my sixth-favorite Don (after Cheadle, Geronimo, Knotts, Stark, and Everly) is Quixote, who said, “Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.”

And his buddy Sancho replied, "Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills."

The lesson is clear. Pick a fight that's worth fighting and don't go chasing windmills. Or waterfalls. Just do the right thing and get along.