Forsyth MO. - It was mid-March, 2020 and at about 10AM on a Wednesday, I made the decision to go to a local
Country Mart Grocery store for some supplies...
The coronavirus was still raging all across the continental landscape. While, here in Missouri, there were only
16 cases out of a population of 6 million with no one yet dying! Although to hear the folks at CNN talk, this virus was going to be the end of the world as we know it. OK, then... I guess that's that. It must be true. Because, how often are those folks ever caught lying? Just saying.
I arrived at the store at about 9:20 AM and my first impression was that, while the store looked busy, it didn't look like there was much in the way of panic buying going on. If nothing else, it felt more like a typical weekend morning... Busy, but really not impressively so.
As I meandered my way through the isles, my first stop took me to the pharmaceutical section for a bottle of mouthwash and a few bars of soap. (Yes, just plain old soap). I noticed that where there was a generic selection available, that was what customers were buying. The Brand names were pretty much left sitting on the shelf. (That was something that showed up again and again as I shopped).
Next, it was onto the
Produce Department where I grabbed some apples and an onion. I also noted that the large ten pound bags of potatoes was almost gone even as the smaller five pound bags were in ample supply. Everything else about that department seemed pretty normal. I did overhear one of the store personnel remark that TP was hard to come by, and I wondered in passing, what the connection was between the virus and TP? (Hint: There is none).
As I passed the canned goods isle, I glanced down the isles and noted that a lot of customers seemed to gravitate towards the purchase of corn! Why was that true, for God's sake? Perhaps, it was on sale. From a strictly nutritional standpoint, corn is not all that energy dense. (Nowhere like potatoes are). [As an aside; I would think that a collage post-grad might want to do some research on what people buy in stores like this during a time of a 'pseudo' crisis.] I call this crisis 'pseudo' based on the incidence of infection by the coronavirus being at about .00026% of the Missouri population. (If people wanted to be afraid of something, let them worry more about the regular flu which has hit the country pretty hard this season)!
When I finally made my way to the checkout area, I witnessed a group of ladies who looked pretty tired even at such an early hour, Hey! If you're planning on shopping at a grocery store, over the next couple of weeks, please consider slipping your checkout person a few bucks to help brighten their day....
As I stepped out of the store and headed for my car, the sun was breaking through the clouds and you could feel spring just about to burst out all over the place. I realized that things were going to be just fine and that all I really needed to do (besides washing my hands) was to keep the TV tuned to some old movie while bypassing the media talking heads and the politicians who were desperately trying to; score points, enhance the sense of panic and to throw taxpayer money at a problem that was going to very likely clear up like the early morning mist on a summer day.
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