SURVIVALIST TIME???

         On Friday, I went to the grocery store. Actually, I went to three of them because I wanted to purchase some yeast to make bread. The first store, I did my actual shopping. The other two, I walked in, perused the aisle that held baking materials, found empty shelves. There was no yeast, flour, sugar or whatever else usually went on those shelves. 

          Now, I knew people were buying huge amounts of stuff, but I thought it was pretty much limited to toilet paper, cleaning products and hand sanitizer. I guess I just hadn’t been aware of the baking items because I hadn’t needed anything in that aisle in the past. I did notice on past visits that some of the other aisles with things like dried beans, rice, pasta, all that sort of stuff was pretty much gone. But, there again, I didn’t really need any of those products.

          On Saturday I talked to a friend and was complaining about being unable to find yeast. She said her daughter had a lot of yeast and was searching for flour. Later on, she texted to tell me her daughter’s husband had scored huge bags, like 100 pounds each, of rice, beans, flour and sugar. She also texted that he was going to build two large greenhouses. I told her she wasn’t going to have to worry about food with them living in the same city.

          All this served to remind me of a good friend we had long ago. He became sort of a survivalist. He bought some land, built a house and a barn and planted a variety of trees and crops. He also had well water. His explanation was that when there was no more oil, trucks wouldn’t be able to supply the grocery stores. Plus, we wouldn’t be able to get to the grocery store to purchase food. When that happened, he’d be able to take care of his family. He also had a rather large arsenal, so he’d be able to keep those of us who hadn’t planned ahead from trying to take advantage of his efforts. This friend is no longer with us, but I wonder what he’d have to say about the way things have developed in the first three-plus months of 2020?

          Meanwhile, I’m left wondering what the heck is going on. Has everyone decided to become a survivalist? Is everyone suddenly baking bread and cookies and a variety of other things that utilize those products? Is everyone suddenly cooking meals from scratch and looking up recipes on the internet? I’ll admit that I’m cooking more than I did before and putting the extra in the freezer to utilize later.

          Today, I’m making stroganoff and will have it for dinner today and tomorrow, then the rest into the freezer. Later in the week I want to make 15-bean soup as well as bake some onion-dill bread. My walking partner is being kind enough to give me enough yeast to make the bread. In return, I’ll give her one of the two loaves of bread. After that, I think I’ll eat out of the freezer for a few days since I seem to be running out of storage bowls.

          My walking partner also made me a mask which I wore yesterday when I went out and about. We also wore our masks this morning when we walked. I was amazed to see so many people out and about both yesterday afternoon and this morning. Everyone must be getting cabin fever. And the reactions of the various people are different from person to person. Some say hello and smile, some just smile and nod and others walk with a scowly face and don’t acknowledge that you are even there. I’m sure the virus cannot be spread with a smile and head nod. How hard is it to be kind?

          I don’t know about the majority of you who read my blog, but each morning when I watch my 20 minutes of Good Morning America, my terror/anxiety level rises. So far, it hasn’t risen far enough to keep me from going to the grocery store, but that’s as far as I do go. I’m beginning to wonder if I should start ordering what I need on line. How about all of you? Are you wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer every other minute, ordering in instead of going out? Are you, like me, getting more and more concerned about when this will end? Will it end? It seems like its been going on forever. I’m ready for this virus to disappear. I’m sure you are too.