Lines

Most of where you seek service in today’s society will likely mean a line and longer waits for service than pre-COVID-19 times. Whether it’s a restaurant drive thru, department store checkout, and as of lately, voting—expect a line.

What’s that old mantra we were told as kids over and over—patience is a virtue. Well we’re needing lots of that nowadays.

I remember back to March 2020 (a whole eight months ago which seems so much longer now) when the pandemic first became widespread knowledge in the U.S. how the grocery stores were over run with shoppers.

It was a battle just to find a parking spot yet alone one close to the entrance. Then the venture inside yielded a vast amount of empty shelves where the typical “prepare for Armageddon” supplies would be—pasta, ramen noodles, bread, bottled water, etc. However customers had found plenty to purchase because when you made it to the register all the lines were packed and led back into the grocery aisles with cart after cart piled mile high.

Fast forward to now, the grocery stores are not that packed now, or if they are I have circumvented that by mostly shopping at off peak hours.

However, a trip to most retail stores (of those still operational and not in bankruptcy) will often lead to a line long even before you make it in to shop.

Companies who are vigilant about keeping employees and shoppers as safe as possible from virus transmission while in their stores have protocols, some more stringent than others. Some of those protocols include limiting store occupancy based on square footage.

So a busy shopping Saturday afternoon could likely have you waiting in social distanced line outside just to get in the store to shop where again you can find long social distanced lines to check out. I have seen many a customer walk into a store only to walk out immediately because of the length of the line. While patience is a virtue any purchase made in-person nowadays under such conditions have to be truly warranted for me and worthy of my time.

Now the restaurant drive thru lines are little different for me. Scarves and shoes I don’t need but a quick pickup meal for the kids after a late work night sometimes qualifies as a necessity especially if I haven’t pre-planned a suitable meal with veggies and not carbs. I think when restaurants came up with the drive through concept it was to bypass in store foot traffic in an effort to save time for the customer. That’s no longer the case nowadays. I am finding that you’re chances of ordering and getting your order quicker comes with a trip inside versus waiting in a line that likely wraps around the building. Depending on which establishment it is and the time of day, the wait could range from 10 minutes up to 35 minutes.

One of our regular stops (it uses cows to advertise for chicken) hasn’t reopened their doors for any purpose to customers but has gotten the drive thru down to a science. Despite the length of its dual lines (sometimes triple), our orders are usually in hand, correct and hot in under 10 minutes.

However, we did have an off experience last week. We were traveling back home from an out of town visit so we were not at any of our usual locations.

It was late evening and the line wasn’t near as long as others we had experienced but it was not quick by any means. It was 15 minutes before we even got to order and being blocked in completely made it impossible to exit the line. I noticed a guy in the line next to us had my same thoughts because when he finally pulled up to the microphone to order he made a bee line for an exit opening and sped off.

That brings me to voting lines—which may be the most important line we face this year. Early voting turnout seems to be all the rage so far. My sister, who lives in Henry County, went to vote the first day of early voting last week and thought better of it after seeing the line stretch two blocks from her polling place. She said the streets were lined with people with chairs and books. She then decided to try another day since there were 14 more days, 15 counting election day.

I had been thinking that I would vote on Election Day this year, something I haven’t done in years for a General Election opting instead for early voting. But looking at the lines across the nation, I am beginning to rethink that notion because if the lines are this long now what will they look like November 3. I was running an errand last Friday and decided to drive by my early voting polling place and of course the line was wrapped around three sides of the building with a zig zag approaching the door.

Line or not, I will be voting whether this week, the next, or the next. And like always, I will take my kids so that it is ingrained into their psyche that voting is a right and a privilege and should always be second nature.

At any rate, whatever line you may face throughout this pandemic remember that patience is indeed a virtue.