Pandemic Blues
by John Chase
(Yakima WA)
So, what does one do to pass the day during the Pandemic? For excitement, I go shopping, usually about every two weeks, making the rounds through Costco, WinCo, Grocery Outlet (a grocery mart that has good prices but iffy availability), and Safeway (for whatever I can’t find in the first three).
These bi-weekly trips are made with a certain amount of apprehension, always on the lookout for potentially dicey situations (un-masked shoppers, those walking against the one-way and, especially, people who aren’t happy about everything and anything around them; There’s a lot of tension in the air right now). The store is explored behind my mask trying to get everything on the list (especially the wine list!) I try to express a limited amount of sociality although it’s hard to show my smile with this facial covering (need to work on my eyebrow communication).
I then scurry home, wash my hands, clean my car door handles and steering wheel and then pull out the groceries. It’s usually then that we figure out what was forgotten.
And that’s it, the highlight of the day (week, month…). All other time is spent reading, binge-watching television, Internet scrolling (gee, there’s a lot of nutty stuff on there), napping, walking the treadmill (not enough) cooking (at least one complicated, never-tried-before, recipe) and so forth. I think it’s important to have some mental stimulation, so I do jig-saw puzzles, crossword puzzles or the most challenging mental exercise there is, answering the most important question: Where did I leave my glasses this time?
I trust this finds the reader surviving the challenge we all face and hope to see you all on the other side.
Enjoy the retirement life!
