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Dispatches From the Western Front: Open and Serving
Life and Times in the Era of COVID-19, by Father Time
The Foreseeable Future
On any given day, the shopping center across from our community is a buzzing hive of commerce.
IKEA, one of the three mega-chain anchor stores beckons would-be interior designers with its Day-Glo yellow entrance. Next door, Lowe’s Home Improvement entices with a lush garden center and rows of shining bar-b-que grills. And across the football field-sized parking lot is Costco, the crown jewel of American consumerism.
Rounding out the perimeter of this shopping mecca is IHOP, Starbucks, McDonald's, Cold Stone Creamery, Subway, a Sports Clips barbershop, and one of our most favorite places, a branch of the public library. We don’t have to travel far to get what we need.
These days, however, the place is New Year’s Day-empty. All the restaurants have new banners up that read, “Open for Delivery or Pick Up Only.” The owner of Sports Clips posted a typewritten sign in which you can hear the emotion in her voice: “We’re taking it one day at a time and staying closed until the situation improves. We want to keep all of you safe.”
