The grocery store was slammed full of shoppers on Friday when we finally felt the roads were safe enough to venture out. Power had been intermittent for over a week and as mains burst in the area, boil notices added to the strain of not having water to boil. We were not so hard hit. Water pressure was lost, but our home was never completely without tap water supply. Hot showers in the dark was as bad as it got here. 

Sheer boredom compounded by the lack of tonic water my husband splashes in his gin encouraged us to brave the ice. 

There has been too much idleness even during this more leisurely time of retirement. 

We put a few things in our small cart. The store was completely out of fruits, vegetables, and meats, including the prepackaged deli/breakfast meats and cheeses which normally filled the store coolers. There was no dairy or eggs. I was hoping for some Noosa Lemon yogurt. That entire area of the store was roped off. Because we had chicken on our list I approached a store manager who was standing near one of the empty coolers chatting with a young stocker-looking kid. I wondered if he had any word of when to expect the supply chain to ramp back up. He seemed almost gleeful as he launched into his version of “why it can’t be called global warming” and that given these wild extremes of temperature, “climate change” is a much better phrase for this predicament. I could tell that I had interrupted a lecture when the young guy took his opportunity to drift away. I had time to let him talk. It took some patience but he finally and abruptly did stop. 

 

I smiled faintly, reminding him gently, “chicken?”.  

He might have been a Dairy section supervisor. 

“Can’t say, he said, “...been promised milk and eggs tonight.” 

People are tired. I frequently wonder what “things will look like” in the future. The trials of confronting loss, and of preparing for the unknowns presented by what appears to be a crumbling democracy are taking and have taken a toll. I’m not seeing hopelessness in the faces at the grocery store - my only venue for observing strangers - the vibe seems to be polite, tired, watchful. At check-out the cashier told us that we had too many bottles of tonic water. Water is being rationed she explained because so many people are without water. I felt shamed, but not ashamed and said, okay but that’s not water. Tonic water is not water. Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink that is commonly used as a cocktail mixer." When they indicated that it clearly says “water” right there on the label I said "I know you are just trying to follow the rules as we are too." 

 

Slightly awkward. 

The liquor store two doors down had no problem selling us how ever many bottles my husband purchased in there while I took our groceries to the car. I wondered as I waited if the two party size bags of Cheetos that I impulsively bought made me “greedy”. I could tell you that the chips aisle was completely stocked... .  

It may be just me, and I may be “entitled” (not sure, all the societal algorithms are in flux), but it seems like people are being encouraged to “keep their heads down” and go with the flow...yes, it clearly says water right on the label. Good catch. 

After the big thaw we ventured out to grocery shop again - last time really was about getting the tonic water - this trip was about sourcing food for our dog. He eats a bag of kibble, a chicken (cooked and deboned) and chicken livers when we can find them. Purina recommends one can per 10.5-12.5 pounds a day. My dog weighs about 100 pounds. Feeding him chicken is more time consuming but lots cheaper and better nutritionally. I had two whole chickens, four pints of livers and a single serving steak when we arrived at the check out. Even though I hadn’t seen any rationing signs when we were shopping, we were told by the cashier that there is a 5 protein limit. 

I opted for 2 chickens, 2 pints of livers and the steak. That’s $13.00 of protein we will share with the dog and a steak for me.  At home we discovered that one of the two containers of chicken livers wasn’t bagged. We’ll write off that buck and a half and pay closer attention next time. 

Other than spotty dairy supplies and no bottled water,  the store appeared to be completely stocked.