Working in grocery stores that first week of Covid was fascinating because people were feverishly buying 16 bags of onions because they'd read that onions and lemon juice would keep them safe, or asking me what in the store had protein in it bc there was no meat.

"your shelves are so empty are you running out of food? when will it all be gone?" ma'am you have 14 cases of mangos in your cart the problem is not that the food has stopped coming

"can i freeze bread" yes "does soap...work?!" no differently than it did yesterday sir "is there any way you could check for sanitizer in the back" someone just offered me $20 for the half empty one in my purse, i promise you we didn't overlook a stockpile

"is this soup good if you're sick?" ma'am those are ravioli, not a soup "you're out of toilet paper" sir someone just bought all the holiday printed napkins too, you're a little uhhh behind the ball here

"limit of 2 per customer?! that's illegal" what "i can't believe how you've jacked up prices for essentials like bread" ma'am that's a loaf of artisan bread imported from germany, it has always cost $5 "do you sell firewood or coal" ma'am we are in atlanta georgia

"your employees aren't staying 6 feet away from me and should be sanitizing everything they tough" ah valid point have you tried staying 6 feet away from them and also me? ah? what's that? sorry I can't hear you too far away, what a shame

truly miss the weird masks made out of paper bags and bedazzled gallon water jogs though

and to be clear, that first week? worked the hardest I ever have in my life I think. absolutely brutal to just throw pallets in a sweater vest on the sales floor for 12 hours knowing theres no end in site bc it'll be gone the instant you put it out.