Music March: my very first submission

Today I had to go to my local warehouse store, and because I’m a morning person I went early with the plan to beat the crowds. So, I was little shocked to turn into the parking lot and find nearly every single spot taken. Uh-oh, I thought. This is not good.

The great toilet paper scramble has hit my area.

I’m a veteran of decades of retail. I’ve worked some seriously scary Black Friday sales. I’ve seen people literally play tug-of-war over a video game system, only for it to end in tears when one person lost their grip and flopped to the ground.

But the toilet paper hunters, they are feral and sneaky. I saw an old man snag a pack from the cart of a young family. I overheard a couple trying to figure out how to best circumvent the purchase limit. But worst, was the panic that seemed to be on the majority of faces.

I just needed some eggs, peanut butter, and tortillas.

Putting them in my cart, I then looked for the end of the line, which wound around allllllllllll the way to the back of the store.

Waiting, surrounded by carts full of toilet paper and bottled water, an R.E.M song popped in my head. Now, I don’t mean to make light of the pandemic. Anything but. But, I was a weird little island just buying some normal everyday staples surrounded by a sea of paper products.

It’s the End of the World as We Know it, really fit my experience.

(btw, I always have apocalyptic supplies of paper and cleaning products on hand. That’s my default setting)