Are you kidding me?

I went to the Blue Store two days ago. (That’s what my oldest boys called that particular store when they were very young. Well, it used to be blue back then.) I have to tell you that I was slightly disturbed at the sign in the entryway. It gave directions on how to walk through the store. My initial thought was are you kidding me? As I walked toward the produce section, I noticed long blue signs on the floor with arrows displaying what 6’ of social distancing looks like. Seriously…are you kidding me?

Then I get to an aisle that I need to go down, only to see a red “Do Not Enter” sign on the floor in front of it. I stand there at the end cap, the rebel in me wondering what would happen if I crossed it, and I take a glance down the store. Red and green signs alternating in front of each aisle. What? Am I really seeing this? The rebel is too tired to deal with Blue Store security, so I move away from the aisle that I need to go down, but can’t because it’s red, and I slide down to the next, which is green. At the opposite end of the aisle that I am now entering correctly, I see a woman backing her cart into the aisle because she cannot enter from that end. So she backs in. Sigh…I just want to go home. This is beyond ridiculous.

When I get near the soft drink aisle, I watch a man flip out as a woman turned down his aisle entering from the wrong direction. He freaked out and started yelling at her that she was not to enter from that end. Oh, my gosh…are you freaking kidding me? This is what we’ve come to? She didn’t deserve to be yelled at like that. Remember you are touching things in the store, touching your face, and using that keypad when checking out. He wasn’t wearing a mask, shield, gloves, or gown. If you are that worried, maybe you should just stay home. Frankly, to see a grown man react the way he did, didn’t make me feel good at all.

Somebody pinch me….

I just wanted to find my things and get out of there. As I’m trying to get through the store, without crossing any lines illegally, instead of music playing overhead, I hear a woman’s voice telling us how to social distance ourselves and wash our hands. This is has to be from a sci-fi movie. None of this can be real.

This is just way too much for my little brain to comprehend. Waaayy too much. How did we get to this place of marking walkways in a store? I’m not sure why they didn’t complete the project by lining the walkways with cattle panels. That’s how I felt.

Do not get me wrong. I’m not ridiculing this virus. I have a lot of questions and concerns about it, yes…but I do know that people get sick, and some die. Without getting into the politics of this thing, I am just wondering how (and why) we got to this place of such fear and panic, irrational behavior, marked by the inability for so many to think on their own. These things do not work in our favor, people. They make us weak. Weak is the opposite of strong. We need to be strong as individuals, and as a society. My trip to the Blue Store portrayed weakness to me. Fear and irrational behavior is spreading faster than the virus. Marking walkways causes an underlying fear. This all makes me feel rather uneasy. Maybe I should stay home. It bothers me a great deal to see society breaking down.

I just needed to vent. We all have our own thoughts on this current event. These are mine. Well, I have more, but I’ll stop here. All I want to say is be smart. Don’t lose your head. Instead, use it. Don’t let others think for you because they will mark walkways in grocery stores. Stay calm. Don’t freak out when someone walks toward you. Be strong.

Remember this is only temporary. (We can only hope.) Be mindful of each other. And wash your hands. If you need to know how to do that correctly, I suggest you make a trip to the Blue Store.

Thanks for being here. My door is always open. I think I will switch to decafe today.

Be grateful. ♥️

Andi