personal stories Archives - Life on the Grocery Line

Social Distance Dinner Party

Byadamk June 17, 2020 0 Comments

I was going to write something about my city opening back up and everything returning to a sense of normalcy, but now we are on lock down again. There has been a curfew in effect starting at 8pm for a few days. It is only for the city and county where I live and from what I can see it’s primarily enforced in the areas that have protesters. Nonetheless, we have lost some freedom, again. On the...

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...

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...

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...