Tag: Coronavirus

The Mundane Apocalypse

Byadamk May 21, 2020 3 Comments
Linda is back after being trapped with her family in a stunning estate for three weeks. Her cart is full of a few hundred dollars’ worth of organic and local groceries that she picked out all by herself now that she has adjusted to life without Consuela. She fidgets with her mask as she watches me wipe down the belts and sanitize the credit card keypad. She’s annoyed. I’m OK with that...

The Temperature Station

Byadamk May 9, 2020 1 Comment
Almost immediately after the pandemic began our store started taking the temperature of employees and vendors as they came in for their shifts. The resistance to change was obvious as I watched the annoyance build on their faces when I asked them to do certain tasks. They were small and easy, but different and seemingly asinine for both my co-workers and me. But I needed the hours and they were...

The Global Schism

Byadamk April 30, 2020 3 Comments
When I wake up in the morning, I think about the virus. Once at work, the signs of COVID-19 and its effects are all around me. If I glance at my phone on break or lunch, I am reminded of a bleak modern reality. Even after work, I feel no escape when I join a video “meet up” for happy hour with friends, because we would be hanging out in person if it wasn’t for the asshole in the room. The...

The Meltdown

Byadamk April 26, 2020 7 Comments
For most of April, I’ve worked closing or midday shifts. My circadian rhythm isn't set for early mornings. But today I had an opening shift. I was struggling to stay awake when should have been in top form. We are busiest in the AM on weekdays and the mood is not fun. The stresses of modern pandemic life make people anxious as they rush around. Conversations are nowhere to be found. People...

Please Bag Your Groceries

Byadamk April 20, 2020 5 Comments
In a world where grocery cashiers are now referred to as heroes and/or essential, I think it’s time that we all step our game up and start bagging our groceries at check out. The genuine appreciation people show towards those who work in the food supply chain is wonderful to see. It gives me hope that we still see other people as human, no matter what one does for an occupation. It tells me...

The Empty City Streets Of Quarantine: I Miss My City

Byadamk April 14, 2020 0 Comments
The city streets are empty, available and free on my walks to work at 6am. When I have an evening shift the same eerie scene greets me as the sun fades behind the cityscape. As I walk freely past the normally crowded thoroughfares of my home city, I meditate on the silence that’s only interrupted by the occasional siren or mid-size sedan cruising past. Despite the isolation that I’m forced...

Date Night At The Grocery Store During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Byadamk April 10, 2020 3 Comments
Last weekend a couple came through my grocery line that looked exhausted and worn thin. They weren’t really looking at each other or talking with any consistency. When they did speak, I could hear a slight disdain in their voices like they had an argument in the car on the way to the store. I’ve seen many different types of relationships go through my line in the short time I’ve worked as...

Who Are The Heroes and What is Essential During The Coronavirus Pandemic?

Byadamk April 6, 2020 4 Comments
I was blindsided when a woman with a slight southern accent and a pleasant smile stood at my cash register and said, “Y’all are the real heroes here” after we began a discussion on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Per the usual, our conversation focused on the deadly virus disrupting our everyday lives and the fears we had for the future. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The asshole being...

Observations From Essential Personnel During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Byadamk April 6, 2020 40 Comments
I never thought I’d be on the front line of anything as interesting as the unraveling of American society, let alone the dismantling of the global economy. But as a cashier, in a high-end grocery store placed in an affluent neighborhood, my destiny was and is to witness human blight first hand as an invisible force bears down on everyone during the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. It’s here...