I wanted to really write a very interesting topic name for this post. But all I could think of was my fear of catching Corona Virus or Covid-19 and my constant looking out for the virus when I went out. Its actually very funny, especially if you have a visual mind where you imagine everything in a cartoon form.
I have already done enough shopping for staying at home for the next three weeks. At least all the non-perishable items like rice and lentils are there in place inside my overflowing garage. Though I might need toilet paper as it might run out. I know its not available anywhere right now as I have checked all online stores ( just out of curiosity not because I need it right now). And seriously, the need for toilet paper has made me so proud of my Indianness Yippeee. . . I am an Indian and I do not need toilet paper because I have Water Power. I know how to clean my tushy in such challenging times. So here’s what’s called intuition. Just before all this Coronavirus stuff had started, last november ( 2019) I had a moment of enlightenment when I decided to install bidet in all my toilets. Well, its useful now. . . Now, let me not move away from what I actually wanted to share.
After many days at home, I decided to go out today. I planned it out thoroughly. I took two disposable gloves, wore a jacket which i would leave in the garage after coming back and wore a cap so as not to expose myself to any kind of cold. Armed with a hand sanitizer inside my pocket and with the route to the shops all carved out ,with my entry and exits planned out in details, I started my journey. As soon as I sat in the car. I decided I should not touch my face at all once I am inside the shops. As soon as I thought of this, my whole face, eyes, sides of the nose started itching. Even my forehead started itching. It was very irritating as that was the last thing to do. So before I entered the store I made sure to rub all parts of my face, sanitized my hands and wore the gloves. As I got out on the road, I felt as if I was inside of a scene from #TheWalkingDead. The streets were empty, . Just one or two people walking with faces covered. I always used to wonder, why the people in the serial “The Walking Dead” have to go out and face all those zombies. Now I knew why. I can now empathize with the people in the serial “The Walking Dead”. My kids wanted some chips and in these hard times, they should get some moments of happiness. And who else but the bravest had to go out. I went to the Indian store. It was a sad scene. The road in front of the store was dirty with gloves, masks and receipts thrown out on the road ( scene from #TheWalkingDead !!!).and there was no antibacterial provided for the carts. I decided not to take a cart and carry everything with my gloved hands. The shop was also filthy and things were strewn around. The only thing that worked in my favor was that it was not crowded. There were few brave women like me who were there buying vegetables. I took a quick exit after buying the happiness for my kids where happiness = chum chum ( an indian sweet).
Before entering my car, I removed and inverted the glove, cleaned my hands with antibacterial and left for Traders Joe. The scene at Traders Joe was totally different. I noticed that very few people were shopping at Traders Joe . At the entrance, there was a man standing with Antibacterial and spraying it on everyone’s hands before they entered the store. I not only got the spray on my hands but also on my cart. I felt safe. There was another notice which said that only 25 people were allowed inside the store at one time. As I entered I did notice few things were missing , especially pastas and pasta sauces), rest of the stuff was available. I wanted to buy some potatoes as staying at home ws a good opportunity to try my hands at making samosa. Somehow when you are locked up in the house, we always crave yummy food. As we are not eating outside at all, my kids are forced to eat all my experiments. I am a happy mom.
So I bought all I wanted and went to the billing counter. Trader Joe’s had employed the younger generations for operating the billing counter instead of the normally middle aged employees. This was applaudable. I came out and was again offered the miraculous Antibacterial. I nicely wiped my wallet and phone with it along with my hands. As I left for my car, I felt cared for with this behavior of the Trader Joe’s employees. They maintained the cleanliness and made sure everyone had access to the antibacterial to stop the spreading of Coronavirus. After this, I decided to skip Safeway which had even removed the antibacterial wipes from their entrance.
I came back safe and sound to share this with all of you. I left my jacket outside in the garage, thew the gloves in the trash and wiped my car handles with antibacterial swipes. I make sure that everyone washes their hands immediately after touching any of the boxes and before eating.
I hope, we will soon be out of these hard times. I hope people find some unique ways to help the world and create a new world order where the earth doesn’t suffer. Looks like these are healing times for our mother earth.
Get a real life ! 