Shopping For Groceries Has Become A Nightmare

Shopping for groceries has become a nightmare. I never really enjoyed it, to begin with, but now I despise it. One needs to prepare for shopping as if they are about to enter a warzone. But how do you fight an invisible enemy?

I put on my latex gloves, my homemade mask, and I hold my breath. I look over my shoulder, wondering who might be infected. Is it the elderly man, the one wearing the WWII veteran hat? Perhaps it’s the Chinese cashier? After all, Donald Trump did say this was a Chinese Virus, or did he say Chinese hoax? Whatever the case, I will tread carefully to the next register.

Rational minded folks are going crazy, too. I walk past the empty aisles, no bread, no toilet paper, no water, no hand sanitizer, no common sense. My face is flustered as I curse under my breath. “What is wrong with you people,” I say, just loud enough that someone might hear. An elderly gentleman and his wife look up from the frozen foods and say, “haven’t you heard, it’s the end of the world?” I smirk, but he can’t tell underneath my mask.

I see people browsing for clothes, trying on shoes, buying movies and videogames, and I shake my head. Some people are just standing still, texting on their phones and chatting with their spouses. This is not a social club. I wish everyone would just buy what they need and get out.

I run through the aisles like the place is going to explode, in two minutes. Jesus, I just want milk. A woman starts to cough somewhere in the coffee aisle. I look over at her and she laughs. She has no mask, and It is obvious that she finds my fear amusing. “Forget the milk,” I say. I make a quick escape to my car. I dispose of my gloves and mask. I sanitize my hands, keys, wallet, and cellphone. Perhaps I’ve gone mad, too.

I used to think I was rationale minded, but now I wonder. I look down at my hands, they look old and frail. I washed them so much that I stole the moisture from them. I shake my head, “I have gone crazy.” I turn on the radio and I hear a woman complaining about being home with her spouse and kids. Probably the same woman who complained before about not spending enough time with her husband and kids.

For better or worse, this virus has changed us. Despite the fear, we go on living. We worry about our next paycheck but continue to buy. We Prepare for war, stockpiling toiletries, Clorox, and hand sanitizer. We gear up for battle against an unseen enemy, sanitizing our hands and wearing masks, feeling confident as we shop out of boredom. “Stay calm and stay six feet away,” the newsman says. Don’t cough, sneeze, or breathe, people don’t like that. The virus brought us together and tore us apart

We are not made for solitude, yet we need our space. But, despite all this, there is a glimmer of hope. Animals are taking back their land. Pollution is disappearing. Who would have thought that behind the polluted curtain of our city skyline were stars? We spent so many decades destroying our planet and now our planet is destroying us. In a way, I think the planet needed this virus, in order to survive. For a while, the world is quiet. But soon, the planes, trains, and automobiles will take back the city streets and skylines, and we will go back to normal. Whatever normal is.