Iowa Nice on Ice
We just came through an ice storm that left a half inch of ice on many places in Eastern Iowa, with folks still sliding around a bit in the aftermath. The storm was predicted to hit overnight Friday into Saturday, and forecasters were on the mark.
I normally do the weekly grocery shopping on Sundays, so to play it safe, I opted to go to the stores after work on Friday–as did, apparently, every other resident of the county.
Yes, both stores I stopped at were pretty full of shoppers. But there was a lack of panic purchasing–and panic generally.
It appeared I was not the only one out of routine, going from memory or “just in case” mode instead of having a list in hand. And probably not a few who haven’t been in a grocery store in a while, but were asked to pick up a few things on the way home.
Normally, folks are a little more on edge, shopping at the last minute before a storm. But there was no rain or snow at that time, still several hours before impact–as opposed to sliding around in a parking lot full of snow and ice.
Other than lots of folks in place, it was a pretty calm and orderly process, with both shoppers and staff members in a fairly decent mood.
Maybe it was because it was Friday…or perhaps the Christmas spirit was on full display.
Then again, I was not engaged in a fight to buy the last bag of ice melt…things might have turned by then.
