Have you been asked to mask up by a retailer? Take your money somewhere else.

I read a letter in the paper yesterday from a woman who complained about being “forced” to mask up at Costco. I had a similar, very weird experience at a chain store I patronize, and I was so pissed about it, I told my husband I wasn’t going to shop there anymore.

I shop at a restaurant supply store on Mangrove because the prices are good and they have items that aren’t available everywhere else. For example, they carry a 10 lb bag of brown basmati rice that is better than any rice I’ve ever had, and a lot more reasonably priced than the local stuff. They have good produce in bigger quantities – such as the lovely fingerling potatoes featured up top – and their lettuce and berries and even bagged apples are consistently better or at least comparable to those I find at discount grocery stores. They even have house-hold goods at cheaper prices – got a broom $2 cheaper than Home Depot. I find you have to shop around if you want to be able to afford the Chico lifestyle.

When we started shopping there a few years ago, we immediately encountered a checker who had an “in-your-face” personality. I understand – you work all day with strangers, it’s nice to have some banter to keep you on your feet. But this guy is too pushy. My husband is annoyed with inane chatter, but I try to be nice, I try to steer the conversation gently back to my purchases. This guy has always been a challenge, but as long as he was friendly I tried to oblige him with some friendly chatter.

I don’t mask, not only because it’s a fact that not all masks are equal, and I can’t afford the good ones, but because Newsom’s mandates are not consistent – San Francisco, one of California’s most determined shitholes, does not have to mask, because Newsom has too many rich friends, and even his own business to protect there. He knows the mandate is bad for business – let’s face it, he’s obviously playing favorites with counties that have supported him politically. He’s punishing the shit out of any county he perceives to be conservative.

I’ve been walking in and out of this store without masking for over a year now, and while the employees have masked, they have never asked me to do so. There’s a sign on the door, but there are the same signs all over town and not once have I been stopped and told to mask or get out. But last week, my checker buddy, I’ll call him “Kurt”, cause that’s him name, handed me a plastic bagged surgical mask and told me he wouldn’t check my groceries if I didn’t put it on.

Let me set the tone: “Kurt” was wearing an old, homemade cloth mask with his out-of-control beard hanging out the bottom. I had to squelch an impulse to gag. I should have told him, “okay, listen, can you hold these for me, I’ll be back after the mandate...” But I didn’t think that fast, I just wanted to get my food and get out. So I put on the mask with some minor protest, I paid for my stuff, and I left.

My husband thought this was weird because all the times we’ve been in that store, together, “Kurt” has never said a word about putting on a mask. He doesn’t even always wear a mask. But the first time I come into the store by myself, he jumps my ass and refuses to take my money?

A week later we needed something we usually only buy there, so my husband says, let’s try it together. We walk in the store – no “Kurt”, good sign. We gather our purchases, and we head for checkout. The employees all mask, and I don’t begrudge them – they’re with the public, 8+ hours a day, they should protect themselves as they see fit. But not one of them aside from “Kurt” made any fuss over our bare faces, the checker happily checked our stuff without a mention of masks.

I can’t help but be reminded of an old episode of an old show, King of the Hill. When a hurricane hits the little town of Arlen, Hank’s otherwise dysfunctional friend Bill, a member of the National Guard, is named warden of the shelter. He goes on a power trip that ends up with Hank in jail, as flood waters bear down on the town.

That’s the kind of hysteria that has taken over California – the COVID shut down. No matter what it does to the economy, the fascists behind the shutdown will never admit they are wrong, that masks don’t help, the vaccine is a bust, and here’s the biggest truth – COVID is just another strain of the flu. Sure, the flu is tough, and risky for unhealthy people, but it’s a normal part of the human function.

I’ll say, two years in a row during the early 2000’s, I had the flu so bad, I had to hold onto furniture to get to the bathroom for a week. I couldn’t even read a book or watch tv without getting a headache. It worked it way through my whole family over the course of a month. When we finally got out and about again, we heard it had worked it’s way through most of our friends and the staff of S&S Market. It happened again the following year, both times in February, within weeks of the start of school. We realized our son was bringing it home from Butte College, he was the first one to get sick both times.

Long story short, we dealt with it. Friends of ours admitted they had to keep their school age kid at home after he’d beat it so he could take care of them!

The Talking Heads in Washington and Sacramento won’t admit, it’s all about funding the pharmaceutical companies, people are getting rich off this shutdown. Read this article about Fauci and his wife, federal employees worth millions – please note, the asshole is part owner of a San Francisco restaurant!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2022/01/15/disclosures-released-dr-fauci-household-profits-exceeded-17-million-in-2020–included-income-royalties-travel-perks-and-investment-gains/?sh=6d3289a67d5f

The pharmaceutical companies are swimming in profits, here’s an article from November:

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/24/1059041725/covid-vaccines-are-set-to-be-among-the-most-lucrative-pharmaceutical-products-ev

So, next time “Kurt” tells you to mask up or he won’t take your money, snap your purse shut and tell him you’ll be back for your purchases after the mandate is over.

Next time I’ll have to tell you about fabulous deals I’ve found SHOPPING ONLINE, for everyday purchases. Next time, on This Old Lady Gives COVID, Dr. Fauci, Newsom and Biden the Bird!