Has the survival instinct taken over? Are we like squirrels that hide their nuts? Is that why we as a population are behaving in this idiotic way? How long does a bar of soap or a soap dispenser last? More than a week I think, even with a lot of hand washing, and people don’t usually have a spare in their homes anyway? Cleaning materials, suddenly we are all spring cleaning? Toilet paper rolls, what the heck are people buying a massive surplus for? Not to mention fresh vegetables, has everyone gone vegan?
I couldn’t believe it yesterday when my granddaughter called me yesterday and told me that the shelves at her local grocery store were empty. All the soaps and cleaning materials were gone, also the long life milk and fresh vegetables. The toilet paper aisle was empty.
I found out later that the same thing had happened at our supermarket. What do people hoard toilet paper rolls for, we’re only self-isolating for a week? What are they going to do with dozens of rolls of toilet paper? Bandanas would be more appropriate with flu-like symptoms. When I heard about it earlier on TV I thought it was an isolated incident, obviously not!
Now I can understand a bit of food storage, you’re not likely to be hungry with a virus, but a few extra eggs or a two can of soup, a loaf of bread for the freezer, etc. It would make sense, and it would be reasonable, because most people have enough of most things in their freezer to last them a week. We are only told to isolate ourselves for 7 days!
It’s a bit like Christmas or holidays where people leave the store with horribly stacked carts only to return two days later for more. Does the surplus go to the landfill for the landfill, or is that why so many people are obese or are there too many supplies?
I was a wartime baby and for several years we survived on meager rations based on home-grown vegetables. This developed ingenious measures of housewives who produce nutritious meals from next to nothing. I remember bones for dinner, it was my favourite, which was a light and flavorful soup made from bones and vegetables. However, the nation was not obese and certainly much healthier. We as a population have become selfish and greedy without much of the wartime spirit, hopefully when the virus really hits people will start to stop and think before emptying out the supermarket in the future, and start thinking about their neighbors and old people.
Now, both my ninety-nine year old mother and I are in the high risk zone, but we can only act sensibly, not visit crowded places, etc. and I hope that the fact that we live in a town gives us a degree of protection. Or maybe if we are going to catch the virus, now is the time before hospitals become overwhelmed. Whatever it is will be?
Travel hastened the rapid spread of the virus, but even in the Middle Ages, a merchant brought the Black Death into the country and it soon spread like wildfire.
I’ve been reading some suggestions from an alternative medicine book and it seems that garlic is an excellent viral inhibitor, as is selenium, which is found in Brazil nuts. Vitamin C and E are immune boosters. Maybe we should all be drinking multivitamins as a precaution and eat more fruit. Garlic is also available in unflavored pills. Maybe buying these instead of toilet paper rolls would be more helpful!