A Muzzle, a Face Diaper, a Mask

Given my experience with communism, I call the mask a “muzzle,” not a “face diaper” like my friend A.J. does. Why would I call it a muzzle that is normally put on a dog to prevent him from biting someone treating him or if unsure whether he is rabid or not?

Every fall In high school we had to pick grapes for two weeks instead of studying. During that harvest time we had to wear a “muzzle” so we would not eat the precious grapes destined for expensive wine for export or for the communist party members' tables.  

The face mask was not exactly made the same way as a current dog muzzle, it was just a mask, but we felt that we were treated inhumanely like dogs. Perhaps they were trying to shield us from harmful chemicals? The grapes were sprayed with chemicals, probably DDT, and we had no way of washing them in the vineyard.

The communist party did not care to provide us with water, much less a sandwich, we were doing "volunteer" labor for the good of the country.  But we were very hungry and probably would have eaten a few grapes to quell the hunger pains.

We did not have water bottles or thermoses to carry water ourselves to the field. A thermos was hard to find and very expensive, the proletariat could not afford such a luxury.