The Experience Of Covid-19.

Stocking

I saw the uploads on Facebook and Instagram with people overloading their carts with toilet paper and paper towels in response to the CDC's advice of "Wash your hands." No one wants to run out of toilet paper but I thought that was excessive. Still, the possibility of being trapped in your home for weeks with multiple people can cause panicked people to overpurchase. That's what I saw.

I stopped at a Dollar General in the first week of March and they were nearly out of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. A woman pushed me out of the way with her cart so she could grab the last six packages of Angel Soft. I took a small Charmin and a tub of detergent and some other foods. We waited in line for 20 minutes but people were calm and friendly with the attitude of "we're all in this together." One guy bought all of the tall skinny bottles of water. Another lady had five packages of toilet paper. One couple had a bunch of medicine. There were a few like me who had just taken one package of toilet paper and other assorted things. I heard one of the employees say that one woman had purchased all of the hand sanitizer they had gotten in this morning. Twenty bottles plus all of thr large refills. All of them. More refills weren't coming in until next week.

The grocery store was similar. I needed regular groceries anyway but I bought some additional soups and beans and other canned goods.  I can live on beans and rice. The following weekend, in the second week of March, a pandemic had been declared. Whispers of remote work and businesses closing were in the air.

I had gone to the store later in the evening and an old woman nudged me, repeatedly, about why there was only one cashier open. She didn't know where the line was, she said aggressively. How do they expect people to get in line? I looked around. People were forming two long lines but they were zippering and letting people go first who had only a couple of items. It was working.

For several days I had been listening to people complain. They canceled church services, sporting events, and some school events. People were pissed. "My son isn't going to get to do this!" "My daughter can't go now." "I don't know what I'll do without church." Seriously, these are the things I heard standing in line at the grocery store. In the third week of March, they closed the playgrounds where I live. We could still walk the trails around the park, but the Frisbee golf tournaments were canceled and the playgrounds were closed. People were livid.

I returned to the grocery store for more soups and bread and Sprite and things I had missed on the first few trips the previous weekend. I bought some flour and extra coffee and creamer and granola bars. The places I visited (Kroger, Dollar General, and Big Lots) were largely devoid of paper goods.

I had what I needed for now.