Not Panic but Plenty of Precaution

How are you all doing? Okay so far? Have what you need? Hanging in there?

We are, at the moment, all right, although it is impossible not to worry.

Of necessity we shop every Friday for my folks and for us.

It is rarely entertaining, mostly because I am uncomfortable in crowds.

Yesterday morning we headed out early, having been deluged with photos of empty shelves and reports of panic.

We did indeed find bare shelves. There was no bathroom tissue to be had at Walmart . There were few disinfecting products, although we scored a bottle of spray cleaner, which we use even when there isn't a pandemic.

Staples like flour were absent or in short supply, perhaps just for the moment, as there were dozens of stockers hard at work all through the store. 

We also found universally pleasant, kind, helpful, cheerful, people, whether they were store employees or early morning customers like ourselves. 

It was a relief from the social media free-for-all that has become the norm.

And we found TP at Hannaford, thankfully, because we were actually out and needed to buy some. One pack for us. One pack for the folks.

Call me crazy but I think whenever this disease outbreak plays out, and however it does, we are going to be profoundly changed. I think if systems are put in place for distance learning and telecommuting for those for whom it is possible, they will not be abandoned even if and when things get better.

I think there may be a lot more preppers than there are now. I hope though that we don't go crazy ceding control of our lives to others, particularly government, and find freedom gone forever in the future. It is easy to let others take care of us, but it tends to come with a cost.

And by way of update we went back in late afternoon to take Becky shopping when she got off work and to pick up prescriptions...what a difference. The store was mobbed and people were miserable. Not one person smiled back or even acknowledged nods and greetings.

Pretty darned grim.