Friday, June 19, 2020

Summer Solstice

The Solstice is almost upon us.  While my calendar shows it as "the first day of Summer", it is also known as "Midsummer night's Eve".

We may experience our hottest day of the year today, forecast for the 90's.  After freezing for six months, you won't hear any complaints from this southern girl, although the air is already thick and sticky at 8 am as I type this.

I have been waiting for the fireflies.  Last night I stepped out into the gloaming and was rewarded with the light show that is the mating call of the local fireflies.  They are abundant here, and a walk barefoot down the drive in shorts and a tank top at 9 pm, surrounded by the drifting lights of fireflies, I surely felt like I was living in fairyland.

Perversely, the news I get over the air and internet is an ugly contrast.  Immigrants being referred to as 'not human, but animals", our elections being sold out to China to secure the vote of the farm belt, open denial of a global pandemic-everyday brings another jaw dropping moment.

The behavior of our supposed leader has a trickle down effect that expands like a terminal cancer. 

We ventured out on a stock up run yesterday, and despite the governor's mandate that masks be worn, the corporate grocery chain Hannaford has chosen not to follow it. 

While the local Walmart has clearly posted signs saying masks need to be worn unless you have a medical condition-an easy out for the deniers since no proof of same condition is required, Hannaford corp doesn't care.

They have taken measures to make sure you have to go down every aisle, by putting directional arrows on the aisle floors.  I find that if I follow the arrows I spend twice as much time in the store, making the store more crowded and creating a longer time frame for possible exposure and giving those not wearing masks more opportunity to spew virus over the store.

To add insult to injury, a large sign directs the customer to carts which are proclaimed to be "all sanitized", yet I watched an employee retrieve carts from the corral and stick them straight into the cart queue. Since the carts are gathered handles in and returned handles out, the next cart to be taken will be the most recent cart left in the corral, which is especially bad, as any contamination will be fresh.  Exposure to UV and drying air will be minimal

At another Hannaford (it's a long story about why I had to stop at two). they were sanitizing the carts, but the employee at the front of the store (supposedly counting patrons to limit density) offered me a cart.  She was not wearing a mask or gloves-just a faceshield.  She was wearing shorts.  On the way back out I saw her hand on her leg.

If she was asymptomatic positive, she was potentially contaminating the cart handles for everyone entering the store, after we are assured the carts are "sanitized".

I wonder if Hannaford can spell social accountability?




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