Adam Kaat’s true story “Life on the Grocery Line: A Frontline Experience in a Global Pandemic”

Life on the Grocery Line: A Frontline Experience in a Global Pandemic <— TRUE STORY TIME & Adam’s story reminds me of my mom’s story. Well… only by way that his story is about working in a grocery store during the pandemic (right from the start of it).

The panic, the lack of supplies, the excessive disinfecting, the special distancing lines, the customers fighting with staff, refusing the new rules, the customers fighting each other. <— My mom would tell me all sorts of crazy stories during that time and she was exhausted.

Maryse: Hi Adam! My mom actually went through this too. She worked at IGA (only part time because she was officially retired) and when Covid hit, she was constantly working (the deli department), and cleaning, but told me she had to disinfect the grocery carts constantly too, and also have people stand in line one at a time to be disinfected, make sure they had their mask on, before allowing them to get a cart, and that’s where she saw the most problematic people start fights… Craziness.

Adam: Oh my…I remember those days well. Such a strange and anxious time to work in a grocery store. The hostility and tension was real at the beginning then eventually we became numb to it in certain ways because it’s just the new normal.  I bet she has some stories to tell. Heck of a way to retire.

So I’m super interested in reading Adam’s version, and I’m thrilled that he’s today’s newsletter sponsor. Here’s a little bit that he sent over to us:

In 2020, the burden of facing the masses fell on a select few, and Adam Kaat was one of them. Life on the Grocery Line: A Frontline Experience in a Global Pandemic is a powerful, first-hand account drawn from Adam’s “essential” role and his interactions with the best — and the worst — of humanity.

Life on the Grocery Line: A Frontline Experience in a Global Pandemic takes readers into the eye of the storm, where some of the workforce’s lowest paid employees ride a daily maelstrom of empty shelves, angry customers, uncertainty and paranoia. Author Adam Kaat drew upon his own experiences as a grocery store employee during COVID to inform his compelling narrative.

“Every day was something new, from plexiglass dividers to wearing masks to wiping down the entire register between every customer to the point where my arm hurt,”

He tells his riveting story through the eyes of a character named Daniel, who watches from the frontlines as the frenzied panic caused by COVID surges like a tidal wave across his home state of Colorado. Now, he’s suddenly being called a hero just for showing up at his job, and he isn’t sure how to feel about that.

On his first day as a cashier at Dream Grocers, Daniel imagines that the worst aspects of his new job will involve the occasional grumpy customer and tired feet. Never, in his wildest dreams, does he think the mundane environment of a grocery store will soon become the nexus between the best — and the worst — of humanity.