This morning I went shopping at Trader Joe's during their early (8-9 a.m.) senior hours. It's the first time I've been in that store since the pandemic. It was surprisingly busy.
People seemed tense, as if in a hurry to get done. Not a lot of eye contact.
There were directional arrows taped on the floor. I almost went the wrong way. One time, my shopping cart faced the arrows correctly but I walked backwards with my cart a few feet to pick up something I'd missed.
In the produce aisle, a woman was walking against the arrows. I laughed through my mask and said I'd done that too. We both laughed through our masks. She asked me if I knew if Traders sold jicama. I said they probably did but I hadn't seen any yet. She continued forward while I backed up against the arrows to retrieve some broccoli and cauliflower. That's when I saw some jicama and called over to her. She came back and picked some up, thanking me.
There was one gentleman shopping who was clearly not a senior citizen. More like in his 30's.
I didn't say anything.
I don't believe in publicly shaming people.
Nor do I believe in snitching.
When the directional arrows came out at Food Lion I was truly perplexed whether people just couldn't read or didn't care. Similar reaction when I used to turn on the change lane signal on a crowded LA freeway.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend I discovered the next county over had an obscure rule that only one person in a family to enter a store at one time. (Begrudgingly, they allow a child if you could not find a baby sitter). So I helped save the world by sitting in the car while Loretta grabbed some hamburger buns.
Hi Dave!
ReplyDeleteI love that you commented. I always think I'm writing to an empty cave--it's nice to know someone's eavesdropping.
I keep hoping that we'll be able to go back to the way it used to be, but the longer this drags on, the more accustomed I'm becoming to my new routine, which is to get out the door early once or twice a week and do my shopping before I've even showered, the idea being (I think) one of mathematics or logic or the law of probability (the fewer people I interact with, the chances of inhaling their poisonous vapors go down, or something).
Of course, it also could be just a matter of good (or bad) fortune--that ONE person who passed you by in the bread aisle, masks notwithstanding, managed to exhale a trillion invisible droplets of SARS-CoV-2, aka Covid19.
Stay well--say hi to Loretta!