Food Shopping

This morning at 7:00 sharp I visited the first grocery store in our neighborhood listed as open. Yesterday the newspaper kindly printed a list of gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and restaurants mainly in our area. As to groceries, they listed who was “full service” and those running on generators with no meat, dairy, produce or frozen goods.

Yesterday afternoon, shortly after they opened, I swung by and the line was around the building. I didn’t even try to park. This morning the parking lot was only about 1/3 full and there were only about 12 people in line, so I got a cart, ready to go inside and check out produce, dairy and meats. There was a “bouncer” outside with a walkie-talkie, allowing 1-2 people in at a time. Unbeknownst to me, the store was dark. The shelves were well-stocked and I got my choice of produce, but because they were running on a generator there were no perishable foods.

It’s an eerie feeling to shop in a darkened grocery store, whether the shelves are empty (like yesterday) or full.

Today I sent out the “Openings” list to local friends and neighbors to get the word out, also to our management office. Later on I received an email from Central Market, the greatest market in town, saying that they’re open and baking artisanal bread, and have everything one could possibly need. It is a specialty market with an embarrassment of riches. They can be forgiven for not having cleaning or paper products, or a magazine section. So that’s where I’ll go the minute they open tomorrow morning. After I try to get gasoline – haven’t been able to do that yet. If I get there at 6:30 or 7:00 I shouldn’t have to wait too long. Jim’s at 1/2 tank and I’m at 1/4 tank so we can’t wait three hours in line.

My other favorite specialty grocery, Spec’s, now has power and is open – haven’t been but we were a block away so drove by to check status. I thank them for being open in the parking lot with cases of bottled water. No-one had water. Hail to the Cheese!

We are sharing our good fortune with others. A girlfriend came over to take a shower this morning and I made us all breakfast, and sent her the “Openings” list. Then we went out to lunch and she and I toured downtown so we could see if she can get to work tomorrow. Roads were open. Jim worked from home today but may be going in tomorrow to a temporary location. The windows on his floor were smashed by the hurricane so sixty software developers must be moved to an alternate location.

President Bush showed up today to tour the damage in Galveston. There was a SNAFU this morning at one of the POD locations. FEMA trucks showed up hours late then upon arriving – four semis with a police escort for a 20-mile trip – started doing FEMA paperwork to make sure the drivers didn’t pull over and steal a bag of ice. A smart person told them to get this stuff out to the people who have been in their cars for the past 6 hours waiting!

They brought out the water and ice and “snack packs.” No real food, snack packs! What do they think these people have been eating the past few days? You got it, “food” from the convenience store. Chips, pretzels, nachos. Another black eye for FEMA. Plus they’re no longer serving walk-up traffic, you know, the people who can’t afford a car or whose car sunk in the hurricane. They apparently messed up the system so now it’s vehicle traffic only.

FEMA should pay local taxis to drive these folks 100 feet, get their rations, and drive them home. One POD official said they were afraid walk-ins might come more than once a day and that can’t be allowed. Do they know how difficult it is for one person to carry a bag of ice, case of bottled water and box of snack food? Let’s say they live 1/2 mile away. How many times in one day would a sane person stand in line to do that, just in order to bilk the federal government of $5 of essential post-hurricane supplies?