"You're going the wrong way..."

There will come a time when I don’t document every trip to Sobeys for groceries like it’s a polar expedition. We’re not there yet.

Yesterday, 14 days since my last visit, I made my way up Prince Street midday; I could have taken my bicycle, but I’m not quite ready for that yet, so I took the car.

On arrival I found a line of about six people waiting to get in the store; the line moved quickly: it wasn’t more than 5 minutes until I was inside.

Perhaps because it was the first day of “Phase 1” of the province’s Everything Will Be Okay, Eventually, Really plan, there was a disquieting devil-may-care attitude in the air, with some of the social distancing rigour I’d seen in previous weeks now missing. I was very disciplined, waiting my turn and not passing anyone in the aisles; more than once I heard people piling up behind me whispering “I think he’s waiting for the person in front of him.”

That said, I witnessed many more people wearing masks—about 15% of shoppers, I’d guess—than my previous visit.

Witnessing several incidents of clear distancing protocol breaches, against type I finally broke down and told the oblivious person coming the wrong way down the pizza & juice aisle “you’re going the wrong way.” They’d had no idea, and quickly wheeled themselves around with an apology.

The home-baking trend is obviously still on, as the store was empty of all but Speerville whole wheat flour; everything else was in stock, though.

The rest of the shop was uneventful. I should have taken a list, as the background panic vibe, combined with a feeling that doubling back was ill-advised, caused me to forget a few things. We’ll do without.