The problem with a post office box is a number of restrictions were introduced after 9/11. Some things can only be shipped UPS. I won’t go into my problems with them. It’s one of those topics people are willing to discuss with strangers. My solution is to have things shipped to my friend in Santa Fé.
My most recent problem is that I stopped going to the city, and had a package in my friend’s garage. I decided to make one full sweep for whatever groceries I still needed. I hoped the panic had peaked and fewer people would be about.
One store I visited had been restocked - at least for crackers and frozen food; the dairy cases were empty and there was only bottle of my mineral water. The other place also had no butter, but a clerk told me they were unloaded a truck at that very moment.
In both stores a few customers were wearing masks or gloves. I put my hands in some gallon sized plastic bags. A few years ago, the local grocery where I bought them stopped carrying the brand name ones. When I went on Amazon, I had to buy a large quantity. The baggies are the one think I probably won’t run out of.
When I got back to Española, I stopped again at the local grocery. Its crackers had been restocked, but not its mineral water. I had left a few on the shelf, and they still were there. I hadn’t deprived someone else when I stocked up last week.
I was surprised I was able to buy some cotton swabs. I suspect the reason is they were not sterile enough to be used for virus testing. No doubt they are clean enough and uncontaminated in their plastic packages for their intended uses. However, they are not individually wrapped.
There still were customers, but the lines were much shorter. I think one might have been wearing a mask.
What was most notable was the management had installed plexiglass panels between the checkout aisles in the areas where the cashiers stood. They could have been positioned better, but for the credit card readers. All the cashiers were wearing gloves.
I made a second stop at a drug store. The crackers and mineral water had not been restocked, but there were some paper goods. One bottle of the water remained on the top shelf.
The manager here had also made an effort to make the store safer for his employees. Folding tables were set up in front of the registers, and the card readers moved to the tables. No customer could get within six feet of a cashier. As it was, the store was nearly empty.
The third place I stopped was a hardware store. My yard needs may not qualify as essential business, but it is spring and things need to be done. There was almost no one in the store, and the clerk was wearing gloves.
On this date Rio Arriba county still did not have any reported cases of the Coronavirus, but Santa Fé had two new cases for a total of twelve. The governor issued her stay home order would go into effect the next day at 8 am.
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