Hello Again Dear Readers,

I thought you might like to hear about Momma’s wake-up call with regard to the  coronavirus crisis.  To date, she and I have been very lucky — we have not “presented” any symptoms, hopefully have had no contact with an infected person or dog (I have heard now that dogs can get the virus!), and are not sequestered.  In fact, our lives have gone on so routinely that Momma may have not been paying as much attention as she should have to the problems at paw.  Although we’ve had no real slip-ups, Momma has had her moments.  Here’s the latest.

So a couple of weeks ago she wakes up to a text message from her brother.  He asked very pointedly if we are planning to stick this thing out in Florida, and if we have at least a three-month food supply and other essentials in our home.  Well that got Momma’s attention.  She didn’t think she even had a three-day supply of food.  Remember this was early on in the crisis and she was still focusing on tee times, nail appointments and happy hours.

But back to my story.  Momma, alarmed and wondering if she’d already missed the boat, jumped in the car and sped off to Publix.  What she saw there increased her anxiety ten-fold.  The parking lot was quite full, there were at least fifty people in line already, and it was only 6:55 a.m.

When the doors opened, people stormed the store — most of them heading for the toilet paper aisle.  See my “Crisis and Update” post for more on that.  Momma, still not understanding the urgency for toilet paper, nevertheless followed the crowd, elbowed her way in and grabbed a bag.  Although she would never admit it (and I know Momma), she secretly felt like she’d just won the lottery.

Unfortunately, Momma’s foray into the critical toilet paper aisle caused significant delay for other items she wanted, especially because it took her awhile to fight her way out of the crowd.  Her first priority was frozen pizzas because they would be easy to make and would keep in the freezer, like forever.  Plus, there would be no limit on their purchase.

Precisely.  When she finally got to the frozen food department, it was practically picked clean.  The only kinds of pizza left were the kinds nobody wanted, such as those with cauliflower crusts or fake cheese.  Oh well, at least they would keep her alive, she thought, and grabbed a few boxes.

At that point, Momma was losing focus on what she meant to get, so she started picking up random items and wildly throwing them in her cart.  Who knew when she might need Cool Whip (which she hadn’t purchased in at least ten years), Campbell’s Cream of Cauliflower Cooking Soup (the only kind the store had left) and extra large yellow rubber gloves meant for washing dishes (fat chance)?  One thing she knew she needed, especially after this little excursion, was wine.  Luckily that aisle was far from the madding crowd.

So here is Momma’s start on a three-month supply of “necessities.”  What more could she possibly need?

Luckily for me, Momma, motivated by a $5.00 off coupon, had already purchased a bag of dog food.  Somethings never change.

Lina, Safer at Home?

Woofda!