In The Weeds

  “We got to get the bread and milk!”. The first blizzard of the season is on its way.  When I worked in the grocery business days like today, the proverbial "calm before the storm", we would be slammed. The panic in the shoppers as they lined up before the doors opened in the morning. The only days worse were the ones before Thanksgiving.  They rush the milk aisle, the bread, the meat. Nothing is safe. They have to stock up. They fill their carts with the abandonment of a contest on that old game show "Supermarket Sweep". Except this was real life. This was bloodsport. Most people these days are already pretty well stocked due to carrying extra inventory in the pandemic. In the spring we could not get supplies and were dealing with the first real shortages in our lives. People older than us had experienced worse I am sure. But fighting over toilet paper? That is not an issue right now. But the panic is still out there I am sure.  We get our groceries delivered...

  Chapstick The plastic tube sits in the pocket of my winter jacket. The “secret” inside pocket to be specific. It has been there for a long time. One thing about chapstick is it never spoils. It is a semisolid cylinder of vaseline in a plastic case that has a screw-driven dial on the bottom which as you apply it lets you push more forward until it runs out. But it never seems to. I usually lose the thing before it ever runs out. You only need it a few times a year mainly in the winter. At least for me as an adult. When I was a kid I needed to use it more frequently. Chapped lips were one of those discomforts of childhood like chafed thighs from your corduroy pants.  I cannot remember the last time I applied chapstick, to be honest. It has been a few years. I am not even sure if I have any in my big coat pocket if I was to go and check.  I do have hand sanitizer though. Freshly filled bottle from my wife. We need to be armed with it these days as the deadly virus continue...