Image by Mostafa Elturkey from Pixabay [Image Description: Cartoon face on a toilet roll]
The Great Toilet Paper Saga of 2020 was spreading across Australia. One Sunday, shoppers lined up like Olympic athletes on their marks, ready to GO! GO! GO! as soon as the doors cracked open. The elderly stood at the back, reluctant to be amid the crush, but their need for toilet paper required them to brave the masses.
As the doors lifted, the shoppers took off, among them a ten-year-old. He ducked and weaved as everyone ran for the toilet paper.
As I plodded closer, the scene was chaotic. Nobody but the runners would get toilet paper today. The ten-year-old waded back and forth in the scrum, returning each time clutching two precious packets.
Like a dragon guarding treasure, his mother hovered over their trolley. With toilet paper jammed in like a Tetris masterpiece, there wasn’t room for another roll, let alone another packet. It started getting ugly. People tried to swipe a packet or two, but the mother held firm. She swatted hands away as the ten-year-old climbed on top to protect the hoard.
The commotion died down, and people dispersed from the aisle, just as the elderly arrived. Most looked at the empty shelves and sighed. It was what they’d expected.
Their resigned looks turned to cheerful smiles as the ten-year-old called out, “We saved you some!”
He handed out packet after packet of toilet paper until the stash ran out.
I smiled and continued my shopping. A man in his forties struck up a conversation in the pasta aisle. “Shelves are pretty grim.”
I laughed and agreed. After giving my trolley a careful look, the man asked, “Do you need toilet paper. I’ve got two packets.”
“All good,” I said. “That’s not what I was here for today,” I waved my left hand toward the empty pasta shelves.
His smile left his face as he noticed my wedding ring. Abruptly, he headed off to approach another woman. I followed and eavesdropped. This woman didn’t need toilet paper, but he lingered to talk to her a little longer. “Interested in getting coffee?” he asked.
The man moved on before the woman finished her polite refusal. While his spare toilet paper stash was still in play, he used his pickup line again and again. I suppose you’ve gotta give a bloke points for trying.
With the Omicron variant combusting around Australia, causing staffing shortages, the toilet paper aisles look bare again. Thinking back to that Sunday in 2020, I realized the COVID pandemic had shown us the two faces of humankind.
Those who use every situation to their advantage.
Those who want to help others.
As we move deeper into 2022, which one will you be?
First published in Writers’ Blokke
In Case You Missed It
The golden oldie from the vault is Laughter Is the Best Medicine — Until the Joke Becomes a Medical Problem: The 1962 Laughter Epidemic of Tanganyika
You might be giggling after reading the headline. Laughter? Surely nothing terrible can happen when you laugh? And an epidemic? That sounds a little extreme, especially given the realities of living in a pandemic.
Laughter and its contagious nature is a universal experience. We’ve all experienced the silliness of laughing because someone else has the giggles. No matter how cross you are, the sight of someone else in a fit of giggles eventually turns your frown into a smile. You can’t help it.
Laughter can override bad feelings. You can’t feel unhappy or angry when laughing — it’s not how the human brain wiring works. Laughing helps with our stress levels, eases anxiety, and helps elevate our mood. But it’s not just mood elevation. There are long-term benefits that come from laughter. These include;
boosting your immune system
pain relief
improving self-esteem.
There’s a reason why they say laughter is the best medicine.
Usually, shared laughter is a good feeling. Generally speaking, laughter is good for the soul.
Hysterical laughter, not so much.
Like the giggles, hysterical laughter can transfer from one person to another.
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Thanks for reading, Sandi xx