By now, we all know that in-person classes have been suspended at a great many academic institutions in Los Angeles. Even places like the Writers’ Guild library have suspended on-site services, choosing to work entirely online. Public gatherings that could involve more than 100 people have also been cancelled. And the grocery stores have started looking as if a fierce Army just swept through them, leaving very little behind.
I had heard that people are stocking up on supplies. Friends and co-workers showed me pictures of food and necessities they have amassed in their homes. For possible emergencies. So far, I had been lending half-a-ear to the Coronavirus situation, thinking, as usual, that it would blow over soon. So when the paper towel and hand sanitizer shelves at Ralphs started looking a bit bare, I didn’t pay much attention.
But when I dropped in yesterday to do my regular weekly food shopping, I was in for a surprise. The place DID look different. For one, the alcohol wipe dispenser at the entrance was a mess with unused wipes pulled out and left that way. Someone must have been trying to get to the very last wipe, unsullied by human touch.
And this time, the canned food shelves as well as paper towel shelves were somewhat bare. It felt as if households were stocking up on at least six months’ worth of supplies. And amazingly, almost everything was on sale, from cheese slices to canned beans.
I couldn’t help feeling a bit happy. I had gone in for a few things that I invariably need to re-stock every week. But when I emerged from my neighbourhood Ralphs with TWO bags – a whopping first – I had:
1. Two extra packets of sliced cheese (the store brand usually sells for $2.99 a pack but it was offered at $1.99).
2. Six cans of hot chili beans (they had bumped up the price to $1 a can but I got it this time for 75 cents a can).
3. Four two-pound bags of rice – the price was the same at $1.49 a bag but I felt I needed more rice for all the rice-and-beans I would make with the additional canned beans.
4. Bananas – even though I didn’t know the actual unit price of this item, they SEEMED cheaper. I almost never get five Chiquita bananas for under a dollar.
5. And last but not the least – Ramen noodles were available at 17 cents a packet. Usually the Chili flavour is 25 cents and the Soy Sauce, for some reason, 30 cents. The virus, apparently was a great leveller and all flavours, for once, were equally cheap. So I got about a dozen packets!
Who says retail therapy doesn’t work?
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