Smiling from ear to ear after completing the application for my credential, I ran off to the grocery store for Saturday supplies. I drink Folgers coffee and have since my first cup in 1973. Never much considered of the price of coffee, it being so much cheaper to make it at home. After 50 years of drinking a certain brand, it’s just habit to buy the same thing.
Well, shiver me timbers!
The price of a tiny container of coffee was $15.79. This is FOLGERS. Did I mention the TINY container? Not the mega one I usually order. This tiny little container would last me a week, at best. Our Discount store in town doesn’t carry any major brands. Period. They just deal in off brands. I might add, this was a sale price. The store was PROUD to offer this product as this reduced price
The coffee I buy from Costco comes in a large container. When I got home, I checked the price on Amazon. The pricing was similar to the grocery store, although not quite as high. It was then I decided it was time for a Costco run, online-style.
Bless that store. A huge container is still $14.72. Almost three times as much coffee as the local stores. I bought three. Costco Online is a great way to save money. I also save by avoiding the brick and mortar Costco. Too many temptations. Online, I order the needed staples and call it good. When things arrive in two days, I’ll be stocked up for the fall. Thank goodness I’m lucky to have storage space in my garage.
Strange things are happening all around us. Beware and keep your pantry stocked. I don’t believe the supply chain story anymore. This is something deeper. There seems to be no supply shortage when ordering on-line. Hasn’t been for anything I order from Amazon. But, shockingly, local store shelves are bare of many essentials.
When I lived in Russia, a recurring nightmare haunted my sleep. I would be walking up and down the aisles of Safeway. In 1977, that was my store of choice. Up and down those shiny aisles I pushed a huge shopping cart as the store music played on. I’d buy everything I wanted without hesitation. Oreos. Cashews. Potato chips. A chocolate cake. Ice cream. Just had it all. In my dream, the basket was overflowing, but nothing ever fell off the cart. The store music was sweetly familiar, composed of all my favorites.
Each morning, the dream would end and I would again wake up to the hell known as the communism.
The little town in which I lived had waited ten years for their new grocery store. It opened the summer I lived there and I was given a pass to the front of the line on opening day. Once inside, I almost believed I’d died and gone to heaven. There was cheese. Of course, without the protection of real shrink wrap, flies were zipping in and out of the packaging. Meat and cheese were not sealed properly. Refrigeration cases were cool-ish. A brand new grocery store with flies and fly strips handing overhead. Go figure.
On that first visit, the store could have almost passed for a US version of a grocery store. Almost. There was a little meat. Some cheese. A variety of canned goods. Some produce. A little milk. No frozen section, because most homes had no refrigerators. Some still had no electricity or running water. Tiraspol, Moldavia. 1977.
Communism. Such a great thought.
Not.
Returning one week later, I needed more cheese.
Shock of shock.
Every single aisle in the store, every last one mind you, was full of cans of green peas. From floor to ceiling. Canned peas. The entire center of the store. Canned peas. A sea of them. Not Jolly Green Giant canned peas. These were moldy-grey in color, overcooked in an oily substance that had a putrid odor. I know. I bought six cans that day because there was nothing else to buy in the entire store.
The meat and cheese aisles were never filled again that summer. The milk case stood empty. The only thing in that brand new supermarket was canned peas. Customers went in and out with their little bags of peas, excited the new market had finally opened. I returned to shop the outdoor market where live nutria were on sale for the dinner table. I’d never heard of or seen that critter before. Animals are kept alive until dinner time. It’s better for everyone that way, as there’s no refrigeration.
Fast forward to our own Walmart here in town. First of all, the entire place is a tripping hazard. There are not enough employees to put out the stock. The store is using the “Just in Time” method. There is no storage in the back anymore. Things arrive and are placed on the shelves. Groovy if the supply chain issues didn’t mess that up. So, now, things that didn’t sell are still on the shelves, while new stuff sits in boxes in the middle of the store.
But, I noticed something else. Normal, day to day items are gone from the shelves. For so many years, I could buy my favorite Stone Wheat crackers anywhere. I tried my first one in 1977. Now, they are not to be found anywhere. At the grocery store, an empty spot sits waiting for them to arrive. It’s been empty for three months now.
Again, checking Amazon, I found them. Red Oval Stone Wheat Crackers. Not Keto approved, but so wonderful with cream cheese. Yes. I can get them. Sure. $24 for four boxes. CRACKERS. These are CRACKERS.
After 50 years, maybe I need to change the products I have loved for so long. If I could adjust to losing VST after 50 years, I can adjust to anything. Life is so different now. Somedays, it’s just better to stay home.
Today is not the case. Off I go to the Biggest Little City to the West. I’ll be fingerprinted, again. Again, I’ll be cleared of murder, robbery, and cat burglary. The dust will settle and I’ll be Mrs. Hurt until June 2nd.
Whatever you choose to do today, inventory the important things in your home. Especially necessary medications. Don’t forget your furry friends. Keep a stash of chocolate. They are already talking about shortages for Halloween and Christmas. Oy Vey.
More tomorrow.