life in a bad sci-fi movie

Yesterday I went to the local Hannafid’s. There were about half local, about half out-of-state plates, very much like the summer. I wore gloves and a mask, and took no bags.

As has been the case for the last three weeks, no TP (really?), no sanitizer, no dried beans, very limited pasta, very limited rice, no tofu (WTF?).

About half the shoppers wore masks and glove, as did I. Half did not. I said nothing. Clerks were friendly., helpful, and maintained distance.

I found 2 L of a ready-to-use disinfectant spray (a blend of 4 different quat NH4 compounds) at a hardware store. I also found some flour at a store that buys odd lots and re-sells them; I also bought their last 454g pack of dried lentils. So we are not yet in dire need, but that day might be coming.

We are in the middle of nowhere, with over 2000 geriatric patients/bed in our part of the world. The number of beds will quadruple in the next month, but even so....

I wiped down with disinfectant when I got back in the car, and when I got home, stripped, tossed my clothes into the wash, and took a quick shower. It was more or less a practice run for how things will be here in two or three weeks and it is useful to practice the discipline needed for adequate protection. There is little point in delaying relatively strict controls now - I am not the first to call it anti-social distancing, and there are plenty of those in the woods here who already are socially distant as a way of life.

It is strange shopping looking like you are in your own science fiction movie. We are in day 13 of stay-at-home isolation.