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Sandra Buckley (Matthews)
Greetings from North Carolina this morning - it's 6 AM here and the howling winds have woken me up and I've already been outside to pick up the trash/recyle containers (today is city pick-up)........we are expecting pretty rough storms throughout the day, and probably a tornado watch. Just what we need - a little more stress with our Cypress Glen Campus Quarantine !!!!
I had to chuckle at Jack Sears' remark about the liquor stores still being considered essential and remaining open - here's why: We have a staff here called "Life Enrichment", which arranges various cultural activities on and off campus (speakers and music groups, East Carolina University sports events, lunches and dinners out to nearby restuarants, trips to Raleigh for live theater, trips to the Outer Bannks), well, you get the idea. They also do twice a week grocery shopping trips for those residents who no longer drive. So, now we are not allowed outside of our campus Guard Gate - all deliveries from FED EX and UPS and others must be delivered to Security at the entrance and are then brought by an employee to your home. Life Enrichment has taken over doing ALL THE GROCERY SHOPPING for any resident (primarily those in Independent Living who have their own kitchens and cook their own breakfast & lunch - this amounts to about 200 apartments & homes - those in Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, or the Memory Cottage have all their meals provided by the Main Kitchen/Dining Staff). The small "catch" is you are now limited to 10 items, since they are shopping for so many residents. You have to be very creative when making your shopping list and set priorities for those items you really need ! So, as a white wine consumer (Pinot Grigio and Dry Reisling) I was running out last week (about 3 weeks into quarantine). I needed other items besides wine (which in North Carolina you can purchase at grocery stores - huge selection at PUBLIX and HARRIS TEETER). My problem was neither of the 2 grocery stores where Life Enrichment shops (Walmart and Food Lion) carries the Vineyard I prefer. So, I called upon my local friend and Marathon and Duplicate Bridge partner, Jan Brown, to go to Harris Teeter to get a new supply of wine. She asked how many bottles and I told her to get whatever they had of Jacobs Creek from Australia (the depth of stock can vary). So, later in the day, Security calls me and says they are on their way to deliver a large box from Jan Brown. I can only imagine their thoughts about me, as here comes a case of 12 bottles of wine !!!! I was slightly embarrassed, until the fellow told me that was the third resident that week who had a local friend making a "wine run" for them !! Oh well, now I felt better !!
Everyone take care of themselves, stay in and stay safe ! THIS TOO SHALL PASS and we will all be better friends, neighbors and citizens when it's over.....because we've been through it together and understand what is most meaningful in life - HUGS to all of you.
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