#ScenesFromAPandemic begins

Cleanup in aisle 3
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm thinking of starting a new thing, and I'd like to call it #ScenesFromAPandemic.

Today's entry: The fast-changing grocery store. And on this late-Saturday afternoon when most everyone was either ignoring the arrows on the floor or blithely having extended conversations with friends smack in the middle of the dairy section, it was the empty flour section that got my attention.

Mega-shortages of common grocery items seem to have become one of the key signatures of this global event, and they started with toilet paper. Before long, the mindless hordes were descending on disinfectant wipes. Then hand sanitizer. And finally they came for the flour.

I get it. After stacking a mountain of TP and wiping the kitchen counter to a shade three orders of magnitude brighter than the original, the quaranteenies (yes, I invent words) decided they were hungry, and homemade bread seemed like the new thing.

I've never seen a flour-strewn shelf at the Loblaws before, and I'll admit the scene intrigues me - as do all the physical hallmarks of this extraordinary time. Then again, I bought a 20-pounder of the refined white stuff a few weeks ago, so I wonder if I'd be a little less lackadaisical if I was about to lose the ability to make pumpernickel after midnight.

I'm almost looking forward to what the next big category will be. Perhaps we should start a pool.

Whatever it is, I'll have my camera ready. And a few slices of fresh homemade bread in my backpack. There's a pandemic on, after all, and stress makes me hungry.

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