I've become much more of a gate louse during the pandemic for the simple reason that I don't want to sit/stand among large crowds eating and drinking in the gate area, so I find myself standing apart from others. When there already isn't enough space in most gate areas — especially for flights with many families (read: lots and lots of bags) — social distancing almost necessarily means standing somewhere you aren't "supposed to."

At DCA, this is virtually impossible. At IAD, this means standing next to some closed-too-early restaurant in the hallway while people throng the C/D gates.

But I just don't feel like sitting with the people who took a drink 30 minutes ago and think that absolves them of mask rules forever (since I feel like there's a strong correlation between those behaviors and other unhygienic stuff). And, frankly, I'm trying to avoid both covid-19 and the common cold to the extent I reasonably can.