By Hazel Tison
I am editorializing, this week. For some time I have had difficulty finding the brand and flavor of cat food which my cats prefer at the local big box store. When I have ordered it with my phone ap, I sometimes get 12 cans, but never the full amount I request. For the past several weeks, they have very little of that flavor on the shelf. The past two weeks there has been almost no canned cat food of any kind on the shelves. Coming back to town to the local grocery, I find that their shelves of cat food have been almost depleted.
In addition, there are numerous shelves in both stores that are either bare or barely stocked. And trying to find someone to give individual help is almost impossible. I checked another store in Chipley the other day and it looked as if it had had a disaster.
There were a lot of bare shelves. Needed items were not in the right place and might be found somewhere else in the store with totally unrelated merchandise. Besides that, merchandise was dragged off the shelves in some places. And on the back isle merchandise displays back there was almost inaccessible due to stacks of containers lined up in the isle waiting to be placed on shelves. As I was checking out, I remarked to the cashier, “you are having trouble getting enough help, aren’t you?” She quickly replied, ”You Want a Job?” I could see the desperation in her eyes as she made this feeble effort at levity.
Long lines at the checkout at the big box store brought suggestions to use the self-check registers. We were told by some employee working the floor that trucks aren’t being unloaded, shelves are not being stocked, and cash registers aren’t being manned because people aren’t showing up for work. Go through any fast food line and there is a “Help Wanted” sign or “Hiring” sign prominently posted. Places of business at the beach are begging for help and they continue to use labor contractors who bring in foreign labor. One of the most well-known restaurants has “Hiring” included in its advertisement.
And have you seen the number of cars on the roads? With gasoline over $3.00 per gallon, youÂ’d expect a bit of desire to conserve miles, but travel is a sign of a healthy economy. Is our economy healthy? Some would like to think so, but if you look at your investment portfolio, it doesnÂ’t look too healthy. Less than one percent interest on investments is not healthy. Retirees living on interest income are hurting. I am no economist but I know that the treasury of the U.S. canÂ’t continue to give away money and remain solvent any more than an individual or business can spend more than it brings in survive.
Now we are hearing talk of a 4th stimulus check. I found it hard to believe that everyone under 75,000 income was getting one. And they just keep coming. If I had ever made anywhere near $ 75000 while I was working as a teacher, IÂ’d think I was rich. With extra cash from the stimulus money plus income from unemployment, its no wonder so many people in cars are on the road. Why work when you can get paid to do nothing? In the meantime, what are Casper, Dolly and Sparky going to do about their Beef Shreds? I guess I am going to have to start cooking for the cats. My friend, the late Faye Helms always cooked chicken breast for her dog Toby and my feline friends are as deserving as anybodyÂ’s.
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