Who’s hoarding the mini blinds?

#Middlebury #Seniors

It’s a bit unnerving to walk through a store and see so many empty shelves. I haven’t been to the local big box store very often lately, but I wanted to see if what I suspected was true.

I’d been unable to order a number of items for curbside delivery and had been told that lots of things were actually in the store but couldn’t be purchased except inside in person. That made no sense.

I suspected that, instead, those items just weren’t there. So, in I went, mask on face, miniature hand sanitizer bottle in purse.

I was stunned to see so many empty shelves. It wasn’t like the first month of the pandemic when people were hoarding and taking as much bread, sanitizers and canned goods as they could carry out, until limits were put on purchases. Instead, there were shelves empty of items you wouldn’t normally associate with hoarding, like mini blinds.

Who hoards mini blinds?

I could (maybe) understand the lack of packs of lined school paper and pencils, for the kids doing remote learning, or toys because the kids are home all the time. I could see where we’d still be missing a variety of paper towels. And I could almost understand the few choices for shampoo and bath soap.

But what about dishes and light bulbs? Unless one was in the market for square red dinner dishes or 40-watt bulbs, there were none to be had.

Certain shortages we can understand. But what has happened to the supply line when we can’t get a simple 100-watt bulb?

With winter coming, we might do well to reconsider our supplies and add a few light bulbs to our stash. Otherwise we might be in the dark even more than we already are.

© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.