Travel in the time of COVID-19, part 5

Hey, who needs to go to China or Japan, Italy or Iran, or any of the other Lands of Covid-19.  It's here, it's no cheer, get used to it.  Because my client isn't going anywhere for a while, they are cutting our hours to 35 per week which is not something you want to happen when you are going to start taking Social Security in the next two years.  You want big old amounts of chunky change to be pouring into your bank account to give you a bigger ultimate payday at age 70.  There is also the rumor that we have to take 10 days off without pay. Again, big old amounts of chunky change need to be pouring in.  To top this off, my dear, lovely younger niece is freaked out about me taking public transportation, which I love.  My dear, lovely younger niece said one of the nicest things to me that anyone has ever said and with that in mind, I will be driving to work for the next few weeks and carrying my lunch.  I am even considering working from home because she asked me to think about it.

Yesterday I went to Costco with my dear Boo and the line went in both directions from the front door, down the respective lengths of the building and around the corner.  Costco had even gotten extra parking spaces for the weekend from a neighboring business.  Boo got a cart while I went and got us a spot in line but after roughly two minutes, we gave the cart to another shopper and left.  There would be in excess of 200 people in the store and most would be within six feet.  I am not a fan of other Costco shoppers all up in my video.

We went to a hardware store that we both like and I scored a bucket (to wash bras), a plunger (for, well, plunging), Goop (fabulous for stains, y'all), a bottle of vinegar, and, amazingly, my preferred choice of pocket tissues, Kleenex 3-ply.  Boo scored his necessities and it was very pleasant there.

We went to a favorite breakfast place in Evanston and it was closed and would remain so for the next 10 days.  Off we went to another spot and ate a very tasty lunch and then went to Jewel Osco for food supplies.  Yes, there were people in the store but there was lots of food and the lines moved quickly.  If you didn't want toilet paper or paper towels, everything was rosy.  "What's with toilet paper?" asked Boo, adding, "When I was a kid growing up in the Philippines, if things were desperate we would use a banana leaf or else one of the pages from the telephone book."  Then we discussed dearly departed phone books and their super thin, absorbent sheets, and how strong men would rip a whole one in half.  (This last thing is my favorite telephone book memory.)

This morning a friend called me and she asked, "What's with toilet paper?" My friend is very smart.  This is something no one knows.

This may prove to be the greatest of all the COVID-19 mysteries:  What's with toilet paper?

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