One anecdote from “vacationing” in the Dallas area last week:

I waited until temperatures were above 15° F to forage for food. The closest grocery store had the same situation as my hotel: no electricity all morning. It somehow had electricity for cash registers, but not for overhead lighting. People walked around using their phone’s flashlight feature for illumination.

A lady offered me her cart as I entered and she left. Many bare shelves. I got items to satisfy my gut microbiota (canned artichokes, canned hearts of palm, store-recipe grain bars, standard rolled oats). And Pinot Noir.

I stood in line with ~200 other shoppers in Grand Prairie, Texas for forty-five minutes. While the store manager verified that I was at least 21 years old, store-wide electricity came back on! I hadn’t heard squeals and sighs of delight like that for a while. 🙂

Reflected on respect for people and property as I drove back to my hotel, I didn’t see any:

• Police;
• Grocery store security; or
• Stealing.

I had a civilization experience instead. Not like Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco, DC, Kenosha…

For those who care about such things, I’ll guess that grocery store’s customers’ racial mix was 25% Hispanic, 30% Black, 35% White, 10% Asian.

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An aftershock anecdote from this morning: I saw three people drop out of an airport terminal’s Starbucks line when the barista announced it was cash-only.

My coffee cost $3, rounded up at the tip jar. Please be prepared.