Grocery shopping adventures!

 Today I had the dilemma of shopping or not shopping for groceries. I was trying to weigh the pros and cons. I was looking at my grocery list and trying to decide what I could do without for another week or so. Then I was thinking that if things are going to get bad here like in Italy, another week or two would actually be worse. I was thinking that the virus isn't likely to be around this area at the moment, way out here in the country. Even in Ottawa the people testing positive were returning from other countries. It doesn't seem to be in the surrounding communities yet. I decided it's better to go now.

 It felt surreal, all the other shops were closed, there were less than normal amounts of people at the stores. I also noticed the thin amount of traffic on the roads. You could just sense something unspoken, the tension between people trying to keep their distance from each other. The store was nearly empty, unusual for a Wednesday afternoon, I kept expecting a big hairy corona virus monster, to jump out from behind a display and start chasing after me. I went in with my list wondering what I would or wouldn't be able to get.

Broccoli___________check
Baby spinach_____ check
Bread_____________ check
Becel margarine__ NONE
Beans ____________  check
Peas______________ NONE
Spaghetti sauce___ check
Soup_______________check
Dried cranberries_NONE
Fresh fruit________ NONE
Milk_______________NONE
Sunflower oil_____ check
Basil______________ NONE
Juice______________ NONE
Coffee_____________check
Bathroom tissues_ NONE

I got a few extras as well, there is a larger grocery store about ten minutes away so I went there and finished my list. The only things I wasn't able to buy were the bathroom tissues and oddly enough the basil. The toilet paper was also sold out in both stores but fortunately I have plenty. The first store had almost no meat left but the second store had plenty. I couldn't help feeling sorry for the workers, especially the cashiers. They are some of the few people who still have to work and they will deal with dozens and dozens of people every day.

I plan on going into hiding for two weeks now, hopefully Canada is ahead of this thing. I couldn't believe the people out who were coughing.. not only that but not covering their mouth. I also saw an elderly couple buying a few groceries, they were really elderly, possibly in their early nineties! I felt sorry for them, I was tempted to ask if they had children or grandchildren that could shop for them. People over eighty are in great danger from this virus, nearly 20% death rate, they shouldn't have been out.