The Covid 19 pandemic is isolating Alaskan writers. We can no longer attend workshops or public readings. The coffee bars where we met with other writers are closed. To bridge these physical gaps, 49 Writers is providing this on-line forum for Alaskans writing the distance. Today, Linda Buckley is counting Covid calories.
Covid Calorie Crisis
It was really just a trip to buy flowers and maybe pick up a newspaper. First the bright orange Cheetos package caught my eye. But my inner food filter yelled, NO!!! So I wandered past.
I was looking for coffee when I stumbled into the cookie aisle. Just a small box of animal crackers would be okay. And they would remind me of my childhood and mommy and daddy and a time of innocence. But then I spied the Walkers shortbread cookies which reminded me of my first boyfriend and the loss of innocence and they went into the grocery cart too.
I decided to balance the sugar with salt and tore up one aisle after another in a desperate search for Lays potato chips. I can’t explain how I ended up with the tapioca pudding or how that led me to the frozen food section. But there I was faced with dizzying decisions of flavors and the rationale that now I would have dessert covered for the next week or more.
I was happy to have a mask covering most of my face as I rushed to get out of the store before I was recognized. As I pulled into the line my eye caught the bright orange Cheetos and I thought as I grabbed it off the shelf, “ah, what the hell!!”
Linda Buckley has lived in Alaska for fifty years and writes from her retreat cabin in Tenakee Springs. She recently published her first children’s book, The Bear in the Blueberry. You can find other posts on her blog at lindabuckleyalaska.com.
This was delightful. Made me chuckle. Thank you for helping me begin my day with a smile.