Those of you in cities are probably seeing a far more intense version, but I tried my best by going into a Target yesterday morning--rare enough in real life, and definitely WTF-am-I-doing-here? moment yesterday. Well, I was right next door, parking-lot wise, and I kind of had a reason for doing so (boring in the extreme and so I shall not digress). And I'm also an idiot.
As I was walking in, employees were sticking posters on the doors to the effect that shoppers would be allowed to purchase only one bottle of hand sanitizer or package of wipes. That didn't stop people from arguing about this at the cash registers, which being right next to the entrance, afforded theater. So did the paper product shelves, which were as bare as pre-unification East Berlin. What is it with the toilet paper? Other than the contretemps at the checkut counters, the place/pace was pure zombie. Not the flesh-eating, but the voodoo trance variety, weirdly silent and drifting almost dreamlike. Or maybe it was me, wandering in in my fugue state.
FYI--I left with a single organic zucchini. Not my original errand. But times are weird.
PS--If I need to chill for a minute, I am fond of watching a YouTube channel called Mr. Max TV, featuring a daily clip of an extremely well-cared for and beloved cockatoo. Mostly destroying things, which is what they do. He has bins and bins of toys. Not exciting, but sweet. But I can't tell you how much it pleased me to see that yesterday's victim was a roll of toilet paper. There's a sense of humor somewhere.