I just had the most surreal experience of my life.

In the era of human lockdown, instead of casually and calmly shuffling off to the grocery store when it is convenient for me, I have to plan and strategize around all of the new rules being played out. Grocery stores keep changing/cutting their hours, and they are restricting certain hours to seniors, “people at risk,” etc.

So this morning I had to disrupt my productive work-at-home time and strategize a run to the grocery store at 7:30am to avoid the long line at the 7am opening and avoid the later rush after 9am. I went for two avocados and cilantro, to make a sauce for tonight’s lamb meatballs. I know, I am so spoiled, ain’t I? So egregiously American.

The parking lot was packed. The self-checkout line was the only checkout open and the line was becoming backed up. People with full carts, already, 25 minutes after the store opened. Everyone was forlorn. Miserable. Looking down. Don’t dare look at another human being and acknowledge their presence! Many were wearing masks and gloves. The place was packed but stone-quiet.

The Commissar of Grocery Carts was positioned between the six self-checkout lines wearing a full face mask and gloves up to her elbows. She was stopping people and counting items to make sure the sheep were properly herded and complying with orders for purchase limits. Anyone who had a cart half full or more was stopped as they entered the checkout. They were told to divide their items between two (or more) carts so the Commissar could properly go through the items and count them to make sure no one was getting too many paper towels, split pea soup, or frozen enchiladas. 

I scored two avocados but not the cilantro, as the entire produce section was mostly empty. But my larger point is that the taciturn faces and hopelessness I observed is rooted in mass hysteria that has been created to further a much larger agenda on the part of a fear-mongering government-media complex. The despair will only escalate as Americans are being conditioned for a way of life under sanctions, price controls, quantity limits, and other such strict measures rooted in Communism.

The Best of Karen De Coster