Dublin Core
Title
Round & Round I Go…
Subject
Personal account of the first day of the official COVID-19 pandemic.
Description
A short, personal account of first day of official COVID-19 pandemic
Creator
A. Paprika
Date
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Format
essay
Language
English
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Today, Tuesday, March 10th
The threat of Covid-19 has landed. My Supervisor at the art gallery in Newark directed me to cancel all upcoming public programs. This means it’s officially a crisis, and I have no groceries in my apartment. I usually shop on Thursdays. But, I’m hearing reports of crowded stores and panic shopping. So, I’ve gotta go TONIGHT, after work – which is the worst time to shop in a crisis. Otherwise, shopping in a densely populated city is ideal between 8pm-10pm. My experience bunkering in South Florida during multiple hurricane seasons taught me how to weather the storm. In my mind, we’ll be okay as long as this virus isn’t airborne and the electrical grid stays in tact.
I’m tired before I even leave the office. Because I rely on mass-transit, I know this is gonna be a long night in Jersey City. I only have three days to find everything I need for quarantine. Friday needs to be my last day out and about. So, if I don’t find supplies tonight at least I’ll have three more days to try. This way, I’ll have ample opportunity to visit numerous stores in several neighborhoods before the end of the week. My first stop is the herbal teashop in my neighborhood to stock up on tea, raw honey, and herbs for immune support. The chatter in here is dense as the naturalists debate the benefits of elderberry syrup versus oregano oil to stave off or quickly recover from a virus.
My second stop is the pharmacy: 8:27PM. When I talked to Papa earlier in the day, he said he was all set for quarantine – he just needed to pickup his prescriptions. I volunteered. I hadn't stopped by this past weekend for my weekly visit. I was busy working on a project. I want Papa to know that I’ve got his back. There’s already speculation his demographic is especially vulnerable. He lives in a senior citizen building. Not sure if they will impose a no-visitor rule like in New York City. Either way, with the impending nationwide lockdown, I have the vague notion that I won’t see him for a while.
My third stop is Shop-Rite supermarket to stock up on red lentils. I just need two bags to get me through four weeks. But, the bean aisle has been raided. Uh-oh… This first warning-signal registers. Beans are the cornerstone of my strategy. This aisle is always fully loaded. This means non-vegetarians are preparing to part with their Standard American Diet (SAD).
Next stop, BJ’s Wholesale Shopping Club next door. Although I usually shop for groceries once per week, I’m planning for fourteen days. The gallery is telling staff to prepare to work from home for two weeks. If that’s the case, I don’t want to deal with leaving my apartment at all for that time too. Even though BJ’s inventory is still recovering from the routine weekend shoppers, I’m still optimistic that I can find the staples around the perimeter. Nope! These shelves have been raided too. Now, like Whoopi Goldberg’s character Oda Mae told Sam’s girlfriend in Ghost (1990): “Molly, you in danger girl…” Gotta leave here with something. New strategy: 4 bags/ 16 pounds of frozen vegetables, 2 bags/ 10 pounds of apples, 2 containers/ 2 pounds of Planter’s Pecan Lovers Mix nuts. Not confident these perishables are gonna hold me over for two weeks. Check Out: 9:33pm. This place is deserted… in every way.
I walk 8 minutes to my last bus stop for the night. Made it just in time for the NJTransit #80 pickup at 9:45pm. I wrestle with my heavy bulky bags down the center aisle to the back row so I can spread out and not share airspace. Free-floating funky aromas predate Dr. Fauci’s social distancing advice. It takes 25 minutes to ride 1.2 miles. I’m home before 10:30pm. Exhausted. But, the search for red lentils and other non-perishables continues tomorrow…
The threat of Covid-19 has landed. My Supervisor at the art gallery in Newark directed me to cancel all upcoming public programs. This means it’s officially a crisis, and I have no groceries in my apartment. I usually shop on Thursdays. But, I’m hearing reports of crowded stores and panic shopping. So, I’ve gotta go TONIGHT, after work – which is the worst time to shop in a crisis. Otherwise, shopping in a densely populated city is ideal between 8pm-10pm. My experience bunkering in South Florida during multiple hurricane seasons taught me how to weather the storm. In my mind, we’ll be okay as long as this virus isn’t airborne and the electrical grid stays in tact.
I’m tired before I even leave the office. Because I rely on mass-transit, I know this is gonna be a long night in Jersey City. I only have three days to find everything I need for quarantine. Friday needs to be my last day out and about. So, if I don’t find supplies tonight at least I’ll have three more days to try. This way, I’ll have ample opportunity to visit numerous stores in several neighborhoods before the end of the week. My first stop is the herbal teashop in my neighborhood to stock up on tea, raw honey, and herbs for immune support. The chatter in here is dense as the naturalists debate the benefits of elderberry syrup versus oregano oil to stave off or quickly recover from a virus.
My second stop is the pharmacy: 8:27PM. When I talked to Papa earlier in the day, he said he was all set for quarantine – he just needed to pickup his prescriptions. I volunteered. I hadn't stopped by this past weekend for my weekly visit. I was busy working on a project. I want Papa to know that I’ve got his back. There’s already speculation his demographic is especially vulnerable. He lives in a senior citizen building. Not sure if they will impose a no-visitor rule like in New York City. Either way, with the impending nationwide lockdown, I have the vague notion that I won’t see him for a while.
My third stop is Shop-Rite supermarket to stock up on red lentils. I just need two bags to get me through four weeks. But, the bean aisle has been raided. Uh-oh… This first warning-signal registers. Beans are the cornerstone of my strategy. This aisle is always fully loaded. This means non-vegetarians are preparing to part with their Standard American Diet (SAD).
Next stop, BJ’s Wholesale Shopping Club next door. Although I usually shop for groceries once per week, I’m planning for fourteen days. The gallery is telling staff to prepare to work from home for two weeks. If that’s the case, I don’t want to deal with leaving my apartment at all for that time too. Even though BJ’s inventory is still recovering from the routine weekend shoppers, I’m still optimistic that I can find the staples around the perimeter. Nope! These shelves have been raided too. Now, like Whoopi Goldberg’s character Oda Mae told Sam’s girlfriend in Ghost (1990): “Molly, you in danger girl…” Gotta leave here with something. New strategy: 4 bags/ 16 pounds of frozen vegetables, 2 bags/ 10 pounds of apples, 2 containers/ 2 pounds of Planter’s Pecan Lovers Mix nuts. Not confident these perishables are gonna hold me over for two weeks. Check Out: 9:33pm. This place is deserted… in every way.
I walk 8 minutes to my last bus stop for the night. Made it just in time for the NJTransit #80 pickup at 9:45pm. I wrestle with my heavy bulky bags down the center aisle to the back row so I can spread out and not share airspace. Free-floating funky aromas predate Dr. Fauci’s social distancing advice. It takes 25 minutes to ride 1.2 miles. I’m home before 10:30pm. Exhausted. But, the search for red lentils and other non-perishables continues tomorrow…