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Thursday, September 3, 2020

SHOPPING PANDEMIC STYLE, OR UP THE DOWN AISLE

We have been busy preparing for Labor Day activities, and Mike has a sore big toe. The blogger muse has all but left me.

Well, it’s happened again. Another month has slipped away despite my best efforts to hold it back. For that matter, what happened to summer?

Mike and I are just back from a quick trip to town, and I was off to the grocery store about as soon as we arrived. Last week, as I was finishing my shopping, I suddenly noticed that the aisles were marked for one-way traffic. I don’t know how long I overlooked the system, but it makes sense that all noses and mouths should face the same direction. No wonder that elderly woman glared at me over her mask! But I gotta say, it’s hard to think that I must traverse two aisles in order to get the product that I can see from where I stand.

So, before I went shopping, I gave myself a good talking to. “Pay attention here,” I said to myself; “no going down the up aisles,” but the minute I was in the store, I saw a display I wanted to examine, and I forgot all about the one-way aisles again. There I was going down the up aisle. I made a quick correction. Then I noticed that about 75% of shoppers were going the wrong direction. I think that's a clear indication that no one is paying attention to the arrows.

Some people are good natured about the pandemic faux pas that are bound to happen. Others take it very seriously. Sorta like our whole country.

And how about those shelves? Just look at the cereal aisle. It’s spotty. Is it because it’s depleted by shoppers or is it a problem of distribution? The situation persists across the store, but one of the worst is the cleaning supplies. For instance, I’ve learned to depend on that daily shower spray, but I can’t find any in the local market. If I don’t get some soon, I’m gonna have to scrub! And store brands are sparse – not that I particularly care. I just wonder what’s up with that. And I couldn’t find granola with raisins. KW

2 comments:

  1. The muse, she comes and goes. I know. And as for the up and down aisles, our Safeway had them and I didn't notice for a time or two. Now the signs on the floor are gone. My biggest issue is seeing people everywhere in masks. For some reason it just makes me think I'm in some strange world and I don't like it.

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  2. As you know, I have mostly confined my shopping to Albertsons, which IS Safeway. All the Albertsons brands disappeared to be replaced with Safeway bands, but they still call the store Albertsons.

    I don't think any of us likes the masks, but what crosses my mind is the old Bible story where the servant said, "Good master, if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not do it?" Wearing a mask is a simple if uncomfortable practice. I may do it the rest of my life.

    And there's always, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

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