So I got up around 0630, proceeded to dress and round up protective gear for a trip into the pandemic world to obtain groceries and other necessities.
First, the PPE. I've been retired almost ten years now. One perk from my job was samples of things we sold like masks and gloves and noise abatement headgear. So when Corona struck, we got the gloves and masks out of the garage storage and moved them into the house. I'm sure all this stuff was past their "pull date" but for personal use?? Why not. Made sure I had a bandana to cover the mask which was clearly marked "N-95", you know, the good masks in such short supply for medical professionals....
Small bottle of Purell sanitizer in my pocket, off I went to Walmart, Sprout's, and the Las Cruces Farmer's Market.
Got to Walmart about 20 minutes after it opened. There were a ton of parking places in the rows near the entry doors which was surprising. Quickly learned why all the cars were near the west driveway----that's where the entry line was set up. Laughing and joking, I entered next to another guy who had parked next to me, halfway across the lot. The store wasn't crowded. Elbow bumped someone I knew, proceeded to the "necessities" aisles----Rogue Dead Guy Ale, wine. Next were chips and popcorn; ground turkey for dog food; laundry detergent. People wearing PPE were about 50% of those I encountered. One elderly couple used one hand to hold handkerchiefs over their nose/mouth, leaving one hand to pick items and/or steer the cart. Don't know why they always seemed to be in the same area as me---it considerably slowed me down. I must say the store was very clean and there were employees apparently tasked with one job---wiping the carts down with sanitizer. The woman in charge told me they wiped down every cart every 5 minutes!!!
Sprout's was even less crowded than Wally World. I grabbed hamburger buns, cheese, ground beef and left. The checker wasn't very friendly when I commented on the pinpad not liking my card. And she was flat rude to the woman following me who apparently hadn't been paying attention to Covid guidelines as she attempted to unload the half dozen cloth grocery bags onto the counter---"You can't put those here!!" sputtered la checkerina bit*hy......
About cards--my bank hasn't gone all in on "chipped" debit cards yet. I'm sure when my card expires the replacement will be chipped but for now I still have to slide it. Well, since I use my debit card for about everything, it's a little worn. I'm learning which checkouts at which stores need me to slide the card "up" so I don't get a "Card Read Error." Checkers used to put a plastic bag over the card and swipe it but I've been told that damages the newer pin pads.
The Farmer's Market had about seven vendors: four baked goods, two veggie, one for local honey. My favorite empanada baker wasn't there again. Sigh. Which is why I got several cheeses at Sprout's for snacking.....
So I followed social distancing guidelines. Used the mask and gloves although one of the nitrile gloves split when I put it on so it was pretty useless. More customers at Sprout's and the Market had on PPE than at Walmart. And the people I interacted with seemed pretty cheery and upbeat. The woman at the Market showed me the hand-made masks her daughter was making to send to various charities tht provide them to nursing homes and hospice facilities. She had a box full, readty to ship Fed-Ex. Maybe if other places around the world approach this pandemic the way people have here in Las Cruces-- maintaining social distancing, using PPE, and keeping a sense of humor and camraderie-- Corona-SARS-2, aka Covid-19, won't be the catastrophe it might be, despite the mixed messages from our leaders (or lack thereof).
And the kicker to the morning was that after I got home at 0915, I went to the Sam's Club website. I had a cart set up with items like dog food and vinegar but the pick up window was beyond 2 days. Since my sister-in-law had given us a gift card that included a free Instacart delivery, I transferred my cart to that site and, lo and behold, the 7 items were delivered to my gate at 1015!!!!!
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