Back to the Future!

It dawned on me today, that my activities over the last several days have been somewhat like what our very ancient ancestors must have experienced. A good portion of my day has been spent hunting and gathering. The significant difference is that I’m not hunting for meat (although boneless, skinless chicken breasts have been in short supply) and gathering fruits and seeds. Instead, I’ve been hunting for TP, hand-sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes. And I’ve been gathering bottled water, canned goods, and sufficient alcoholic beverages that might be used for disinfectant should the need arise. Should the need not arise? Well, I’ll have plenty to celebrate the conquering of the SARS-COV-2; aka Covid19.

I haven’t noticed that we are running short on razor blades or shaving gel but I might just grow the hair out a little and maybe a beard as well. If I’m going to be living in a Hunter-Gatherer Society, I think I ought to look the part. Fortunately, I can make my hunting and gathering trips in my car and I don’t have to spend days on end traversing the countryside by foot. It’s also fortunate that gas prices have dropped so low that it’s not breaking the bank to go on these quests.

These difficult times have tested our mettle as a society. We’ve been experiencing things we’ve never experienced before. In 50+ years as an adult, I have never seen a time when everything has come to a grinding halt. I have seen times when people have panicked for a variety of reasons. Y2K, anyone remember the panic that the sudden realization that our computers might not be able to handle going from 99 to 00? People expected that the apocalypse was at hand and stored years worth of dry goods, canned goods, and water in their basements. Pearl Harbor was a Day that lives in Infamy and it sent shock-waves across the US and most of the world. 9-11, I can still remember, quite vividly, how eerie it was to go outside and not see a single plane in the sky. So, fast forward to 2020. A viral disease outbreak occurs and people hoard a year’s supply of toilet paper. If the disease was so deadly that it would destroy the toilet paper supply chain, the least of our worries would be making sure that we could store up a year’s supply of toilet paper.

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead; And the white knight is talking backwards; And the red queen’s off with her head; Remember, what the doormouse said; Feed Your Head, Feed Your Head. (from White Rabbit by Grace Slick, 1966)