By John Murphy
I don’t plan my days. They just happen.
Sunday I needed boxes. So me and the CalTrans Girl got in the car and headed south.
Went by St. Adelaide’s Church. Empty. Past Starbucks … line of cars extending into street. Onto the freeway — the road was clear and the sky blue.
I took the San Bernardino Avenue turnoff and went past Aldi’s and Nike. Empty and empty. Past the Packing Shed Church. Not a peep.
We wound up at Costco. Good place for boxes, I thought.
Costco had a different look on this day — it being the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and all. The lot was only half full, but there was a long line outside. Working class folks were double file all the way around the building.
Some had masks on, such as a lady with a Raiders cap next to a woman with a walker. I snapped a quick photo with my Smart phone and got an irritated look.
“Sir, you got a question about something?” a security officer asked me. “Because we can’t have you taking photos – this is private property.”
Whatev.
We hiked to the end where I chatted up line monitor Marques (no last name given).
How’s it going?
“Great,” Marques said. They’re letting people in about every 15 minutes. People are real talkative. They want to know what’s in the store, like have we run out of this or that.”
I ran into this quiet guy from San Bernardino named Daniel, buying for a household of nine. But his better half, rocking black hair with neon-yellow streaks, wouldn’t comment.
“I don’t feel comfortable,” she said.
Only Tony Hysell of San Bernardino, a Minnesota Vikings fan, fully identified himself.
“I hope they have flour,” Hysell said. “It’s hard to find flour. Everyone’s home with nothing to do, so they’re all baking I guess.”
Inside the store, women wearing masks underneath big pairs of sunglasses strode by. It was a scene. But we were on a mission, so we grabbed a rotisserie chicken and a bunch of boxes and headed out.
How was your Sunday?
Main Street Dog 