Technically, I can’t call this another Fun Friday Fotos post. Since Rene has cut back her Live Work Dream blog posts to focus on her many other writing endeavors, I published it on one of her Mondays. Why? We had an urgent unexpected vet appointment for Wyatt, which allowed me to squeeze in one more photo depicting our current pandemic society…
What Does a Pandemic Society Look Like?
As I mentioned before, society didn’t look much different as we traveled up I-5 from southern California to Oregon. But we we really hadn’t been out and about much. After running a few errands, we got a closer look at the American society during this COVID-19 crisis. While many businesses are closed, there still seems to be a lot of people going about business as usual.
But business isn’t exactly usual anymore for the essential businesses, like the veterinarian. We were told to wait outside, where techs greeted us in masks and whisked Wyatt away quickly for his exam. I’m sure they enjoy being able to do their work, without pet parents hovering over them!
And then there is the whole pandemic shopping experience. We had our first chance to see it first hand during a recent trip to Walmart and Winco.
It was good to see markets posting notices and reminders for customers to practice appropriate physical distancing. It was sad, however – and scary, and pathetic – to see so many people ignoring said notices.
After being sheltered at FOY for so long, we really didn’t know what to expect. Without television, we had only heard the stories and seen some photos of empty shelves. People are clearly stocking up on staples.
They hit the rice, bean and pasta shelves pretty hard. And many must be planning to bake a lot, considering the empty flour and sugar shelves.
It’s a good thing we don’t eat Top Ramen, or our choices would be limited right now.
And yes, the toilet paper hoarding continues. Markets are posting limits on many items, but many shoppers are ignoring those too.
No, we still cannot find single-ply septic safe TP for use in the RV. Discussion has run from buying 2-ply and separating the sheets, to not flushing the TP. We’ll keep searching online daily, thank you.
Cleansers of all sorts are flying off the shelves too. Bleach and alcohol are in high demand.
After seeing Americans making a run on the guns and ammo, I had to see for myself. And sure enough their buying up all the bullets too. :-$
So what is this society to do during a pandemic? As much as we hate supporting the Great Satan, we are shopping online as much as possible. Amazon Pantry helps us limit our trips to the store – of which we’ve only had to take once so far.
Thankfully, Rene has discovered Imperfect Foods for fresh produce delivery. Yay, more kale, you say. But considering the importance for maintaining a healthy microbiome to combat coronavirus, eat your leafy greens people! For being “imperfect” I was impressed with the selection and freshness from our new favorite online grocer.
Who knows how long this may last. But Spring has sprung, and there is hope for society yet.
For as many idiots as there are out there walking around without masks and squeezing by you in the store aisle or taking their sweet time deciding on soup while touching all the cans…there is a good number of people who understand what this pandemic means to society. They wear their masks, keep their distance, and still remain kind. Keep up the good work good people!
What happened with Wyatt?? Is he ok? This is hitting all of us intellectually, emotionally, it’s a world we’ve never seen.
You have to hit the stores early in the am to get what you need. Crazy story.. my son in RI had to order bleach for me in KY…. from Walmart.com of all places…serious. Unavailable here but he ordered and had it sent to us. Hit your friends up for online delivery… me included if you can’t find the essentials.
I hope with all my heart that Wyatt is ok.
Hugs,
Jackie and Huck
PS .. Kims idea works well. Here in KY country land… lots of ppl wipe and put in a basket to be discarded later.
Wyatt will likely outlive us all. We’ll know more soon. Thanks!
Here’s an idea for when you don’t have the right kind of toilet paper. Use whatever you need to wipe………and then throw it in a garbage can by the toilet instead of in the toilet. They do this in a lot of countries where the plumbing isn’t good. Yes, the garbage will start to smell but if you use small plastic bags, it doesn’t take much to tie up and put somewhere till they can be disposed of. It takes some getting used to doing but it’s an easy solution.
I hope Wyatt is okay!
Roger that…I considered addressing the discussions we’ve had about solutions ranging from third world tactics like that, to buying single-ply industrial bulk rolls, and separating 2-ply sheets to roll our own…we’re not there yet! 🙂