Covid-19 diary: Part 7

By Matthew E. Milliken
MEMwrites.wordpress.com
April 22, 2020

It was overcast and breezy with the occasional light drizzle when I set out for Shoprite to get some much-needed groceries on the afternoon of Thursday, April 9. I took a scenic route to the store and arrived right around 3 p.m., which is when I was supposed to be able to pick up the order I’d placed early on Tuesday, April 1.

I wanted to do my best to be protected even while using this relatively safe method of acquiring food. I had a scarf wrapped around my face, including my nose. Over that, I wore the — take your pick: neck covering, neck gaiter, neck warmer, neckup — that I’d had on my journeys to the veterinarian’s office the previous week.

There was a problem almost as soon as I entered the parking lot: I had no idea where to pick up the groceries. I asked a guy who looked like he might work at the store — he seemed to be an attendant for the bottle and can redemption machine, which may not be an official position — but he told me he had no idea. I parked and called the store, whereupon I was told that they didn’t actually have curbside pickup per se and I’d have to go inside.

So be it. I pulled on a pair of disposable gloves, got out of the car and ventured into the supermarket.