They say Covid-19 causes you to lose your sense of taste, which is how I know I don’t have it. For weeks politicians, doctors, and scientists have been yelling “Social Distancing” and “Flattening the Curve,” adding in an appropriately politically corrected whisper that one of the reasons the virus is so enamored of the Land of the Free is because we do enjoy ourselves a burger and fries, which means our curves needed flattening long before anybody got sick. “Social Distance From Your Refrigerators!” doesn’t play as well on campaign banners as “Keep away from your aged parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends, children, and anyone you might accidentally run across.” Totally rolls off the tongue.

I should tell you that I’m not thin, and I don’t like photos of myself because they highlight how much I enjoy tacos and tater tots. I have no room to be self-righteous, but I have noticed that all this shelter in place and social distancing has affected my relationship to the whole food business, and I’m thinking I might not be entirely alone. I believe the first clues reside at the grocery store, which you should enter with a mask on your face, and your eyes wide open.

The afternoon the coronavirus news suddenly about-faced from “off in the distance” to “INCOMING,” much of America stampeded to the grocery store snatching up nearly everything except lima beans. That night as I entered Dick’s Market, I was passed by an elderly man leaving on a scooter and calling, “Come get the last food you’ll ever buy!” I laughed, but the Rascal was too fast to share a moment, which is too bad because it may have been the last for a while. Enter the grocery store today and almost nobody makes eye contact. Read More