This post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--PANIC
Five minutes to free-write about it
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My plan was to skip this week's challenge, but this morning I was feeling grateful for toilets and that we don't have to squat over a hole in the ground as some folks in other parts of the world have to do.
And then I started feeling grateful for toilet paper, and my thoughts wandered from there to the 2020 COVID pandemic which led people to panic-buy toilet paper, of all things. Practically overnight, it had been grabbed up and hoarded by panic-stricken buyers, and there was not a roll to be found.
What a lesson in not taking anything for granted--not even the availability of a commodity as common as that.
One of my friends was thrilled to find some online (I can't remember if it was on Amazon or where), but it was a six-pack, and it had cost a pretty penny. No matter. She was just excited to have been able to order it and couldn't wait for it to arrive. When it finally did--all the way from China--what a surprise it turned out to be
I wish I had a picture of it that I could have posted here. The rolls were so tiny that the whole six-pack easily fit into her mailbox.
Now we look back and laigh, but it was no laughing matter then.
I remember that! It was a crazy time!
ReplyDeleteWe ordered 96 rolls from a restaurant supply website, of all places. 😂
ReplyDeleteIt lasted a long time.
Here in Montreal we are still getting cases of Covid-19! It is 5 years now...hard to believe how long it has been.
ReplyDeleteA point I'd rather not belabour,
ReplyDeletebut times there were, I had to poo
and in absence of dunny paper
a small pine branch just had to do,
and yes, it did scratch quite a bit,
but there was no viable choice,
and when next I had to sit
I gave the situation voice
with volume set to extreme,
and pungent vocabulary
with intermittently a stream
of words that were not ordinary
but yet came out in a rush
that would make a biker blush.
Oh my gosh! I remember the toilet paper shortage very well! I was a nervous wreck, as I have a history of I.B.S.
ReplyDeleteHindsight is 20/20, and there was a lot of apprehension at the time due to so much unknown about the virus and resulting supply chain issues. Don't look now, there is a crisis in the Iran/Israel war that could cause similar chaos. There is interference, scrambling of GPS, AIS with shipping in the strait of Hormuz with two oil tankers colliding and on fire. This war could make the COVID economic fallout look like a tea party.
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, I do remember the shortages back in 2020 when the pandemic started. People were panic buying! They grabbed mostly things like bathroom tissue, paper towels and other items as well which I don't remember all, but it was chaos! The local news, through the government were telling people that there was no need to panic, that we would be able to get the products, etc., but this did not appease many.
ReplyDeleteOh the memories of 2020 ... and lessons learned.
ReplyDeleteIf 2020 taught us anything, it's that humans will gladly hoard 48 rolls of toilet paper during a crisis. I hope the that when the History books talk about covid, they include a whole chapter on the toilet paper stampede.
ReplyDeletePanicking over being without is very common - of not being able to cope without. Funny how the expectations change though. In India we made do with a bucket of water.
ReplyDeleteTotally brings back memories—those were crazy times!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend, Sandra!
We have never been short of toilet rolls (thank the Lord) We tend to buy packs of 32 rolls from the shop over here called 'Home Bargains, and keep them in a cupboard we have on our landing. I think we have two packs in there now. :-). I hope your poor friend has learned not to buy toilet rolls online. God bless.
ReplyDeleteWhat memories. TP is something we have got to have and I admit to stocking up on it. We always try to have a few rolls extra in the cupboard for those unexpected times.
ReplyDeleteLove your Prompt today...
Sue
Boa noite
ReplyDeleteO periodo da Covid foi tão difÃcil, perdi a minha mãe, só a misericórdia de Deus, um forte abraço.
Well, I smiled with perhaps a slight eye role at the company, but you're right, it was no laughing matter at the time. I remember it well. One day I came home to find that a kind person had dropped off a small bag with two toilet rolls and a couple of other toiletries on the doorstep. They had done this on a few of the streets and were a group of young teenagers from the local church as I found out later. There were no names signed to the little gift note. I have always thought what a wonderful thing they did to bring a smile to every recipient, not even the actual product inside but the thought behind it.
ReplyDelete