I know we’re all going through the same thing, but I have to say that this week has been extra crazy.
It
started when my family ran out of bread. Of course the stores are
barren. We didn’t stock up on everything like the rest of the world
apparently did.
So, we panicked once at the store because everywhere we went in Idaho they were out of bread AND flour.
Then, as if led by a beacon of light, we walked to a section we never go to...the organic food section....
Now,
what’s hilarious about this is that the stores are cleaned out – and
still seem to be in Pocatello. BUT, the organic food section is still
relatively untouched. What is that about? People are willing to buy
towers of toilet paper...all of the cooking supplies...extravagant
amounts of laundry detergent, but God forbid someone pays extra for
fancy peanut butter, rice flour, matcha tea or a froofy waffle mix. But
it’s not just the organic section, the coffee and wine sections are also
chock-full! Idaho…I knew I liked it here.
Anyway, I’ve gone organic, even though I’m not that kind of person. But really, my family and I just want to live.
Instead
of regular bread, we were making waffles (from an organic waffle mix we
luckily found). Waffles sandwiches actually aren’t all that bad.
We’ve had PB&J waffles, turkey and bacon waffle sandwiches, avocado
waffle sandwiches...okay, that last one sucked, but still.
I did go
to the store the other day–at the butt-crack of dawn. Although they’re
still out of regular flour, they did have about 40 loaves of bread on
the shelves. And I’m embarrassed to say that I bought four of them. My
family and I could have skated by with two, but I got gluttonous and
now I can see why that’s on of the seven deadly sins! My gluttony took
two loaves from someone else. But real sandwiches....wow, they taste
better than they ever have before.
In other news, I’ve seen a lot of
amazing acts of kindness, especially from who have helped numerous
people in the community receive supplies they need (like masks, toilet paper, diapers, wipes and food).
Unfortunately, I
have also seen some not so great things too. I saw a woman fake cough
on someone just so she could get a supply she needed. People, being
scared and cooped up, have called the newspaper and been extremely mean
about other people in town and how they’re handling the situation. One
lady called and after a moment, I said, “What’s really going on? Are
you really mad at your neighbor because you saw her loading a bunch of
toilet paper into her house?”
“Well,” she said after a moment, “I guess I’m just scared. I’m over 70. And it’s getting lonely being home alone.”
“You
can call me here every day if you need to,” I said. Then I told her
about my waffle sandwiches and how it’s odd but this is turning into the
kind of adventure people will put in history books. I hope she’ll call
again. Maybe another good thing about this terrible quarantine is that
I’ll have a new friend. There’s good even in the bad, if we just look
for it.
