A Toilet Paper Story Got Me Started on Medium
If nothing else dates this article to “writing in the time of COVID-19,” that headline will.
“People aren’t hoarding toilet paper because they think the coronavirus is going to send them to the bathroom all day long,” I told my husband impatiently, one day in early April. “It’s because they’re panic-buying essentials that won’t go bad if they end up locked down in their homes for a long time. It’s the same reason the ramen noodles are sold out, too! Why is everyone making jokes about COVID-19 causing diarrhea? THAT’S NOT WHAT’S HAPPENING. It’s not fair to make fun of people who are just trying to plan ahead!”
My husband is long-suffering, and accustomed to my rants by now. He knows that most of the time they’re not directed at him, and he took me in sickness and in health, in silence and in sounding board. (I return the favor when he complains about people who drive badly.)
“It’s just a joke,” he said patiently, for the tenth time. “People make memes about current events all the time. They’re just having fun. Besides, some of the planning ahead is crazy. Look at how bottled water sold out! This is a pandemic, not a hurricane. No one’s losing power, yet everyone wants to buy bottled water. It makes no sense.”
