There's a winter storm on the way. The National Weather Service says we should see maybe a foot of snow before it's all over. Not too shabby. Twelve inches of snow makes for a little inconvenience in the way of shoveling and so on, but the temperature is cold enough that the snow should be powdery and easy to move. However it works out, I'm not about to worry about it.
Plenty of people are worried about it, though, driven by hyperbolic "meteorologists" on local TV news stations that pump people into a panic to keep them glued to the newscasts (and the newscast's advertisements.) I decided to check out the local Stop & Shop and see what was selling in advance of the storm.
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| O noes, better fill up that gas tank! You never know when the town will get around to plowing the streets. Don't want to get caught snowed in with an empty tank! Every single pump had a five-car line. |
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| Where's all the bread go? |
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| Sorry We are out of Eggs |
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| There was a run on ground beef. |
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| Here's something I never figured would be rushed because of snow: Cat food. |
Oddly enough, there was plenty of milk - but the half-and-half and coffee creamer was decimated, and the bottled water aisle was hit heavily but not cleaned out.
It's been more than thirty years since a winter storm caused Connecticut to shut down, and that was in the days before so many people owned front-wheel drive and 4WD SUVs. Yet, whenever a snowstorm starts sniffing around New England, we get panic buying like this. *sigh*
Well, the cat food is on sale for a pretty good price so maybe that's just normal shoppers stocking up ...
ReplyDeleteAs for the eggs, bread, and ground beef -- I just presume the snow makes everyone suddenly and desperately crave French toast and chili?
Cat food is a necessity. You can live without a sandwich for a few days, but a hungry cat demanding soft food? Don't do it. Just don't.
ReplyDeleteI had a voicemail from a friend @ 11 am warning me of a blizzard tonight. I thought that was nice, since I have recently lost my local weather station.Then I texted him later and asked if he worked today, and he said, "no, I went to Hannaford and stocked up for the storm, you?"
ReplyDeleteI said, "no, didn't work, lol,. It's Maine, it snows. "
Geeza
Besides, I bought bread and milk Friday in preparation for Christmas closings.
Now when I lose power for the week you can mock me for laughing.
What time were you at S&S? We got to Shop Rite around 9:30 and it wasn't very busy at all. Certainly not as busy as your average Sunday afternoon. Now I'm glad we got there early.
ReplyDeleteLeeanne - We were at Stop & Shop at about 1:30 in the afternoon. When we were done, we went across the street to Shop Rite, where the scene was entirely different: About half the bottled water was gone, and they were a little low on bread, but there was plenty of everything else. There seemed to be no panic buying at all, and there were a lot less people in the store overall. It was surreal.
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ReplyDeleteCraaaaazy - I live in Iowa; big-ass snowstorms are a way of life. We just drive through the shit. I've never once experienced a "panic" situation where stores are all sold out of everything due to impending weather.
ReplyDeleteHey Dave,
ReplyDeleteHere in the not so sunny south all the weatherman has to say is a very small chance of snow flurries and the panic starts. Major buying at the big stupor markups and the convenience stores gas lines are half a mile long, etc. etc. Me I check the propane tank and call if it is less than 40% full since the drivers will not drive in the "snow".
Have a great New Year.
Fred in SC.
You snooze, you lose, Dave....
ReplyDeleteSo...how'd the storm work out?