Covid-19 pandemic: Line up at food stores, eat too much, but repairmen come to me

PERSONAL PROTECTION: Just after 8 a.m. today, I found wipes and gloves inside the entrance to Whole Foods Market in Paramus. Since March 18, only shoppers 60 years old and older have been allowed into the supermarket between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. -- special hours for an "at-risk population," the natural-and-organic-foods company says.

MUST SHOW ID: As I was leaving the store a half-hour later, another 60+ shopper showed his identification -- a requirement -- to the Whole Foods employee at the entrance. Below, you have to read the sign carefully to learn the store hours haven't changed -- they're still 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., if you're 60 years old or older.

ORGANIC PRODUCE: On my shopping trip this morning, I found a good selection of organic produce, including apples, sweet potatoes, arugula and parsley, but no store brand of organic spaghetti or other long pasta. And there were no Prime Member Deals available in the butcher section with beef, pork and other meat.

N.J. governor orders all residents

to wear masks in grocery stores

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I'm doing less food shopping, but standing on lines a lot more, as supermarkets regulate the number of people allowed inside.

I'm cooking and eating more, but we still haven't ordered takeout or delivery from our favorite restaurants in or near Hackensack.

Since the Friday the 13th declaration of a national emergency to fight the coronavirus epidemic in March, our lives have become more sedentary, and that has led to weight gain, boredom and sleep disruptions.

But we're eating well, and trying to buy as much organic and non-GMO food as possible.

I shopped at Whole Foods Market in Paramus this morning, and later in the day Governor Murphy signed an executive order requiring all residents to wear masks in grocery stores "to try to decrease the spread of coronavirus in some of the only businesses that remain open," according to a news account.

Shortages

I've encountered lines and shortages at Costco Wholesale warehouses in Hackensack and Teterboro; Whole Foods and ShopRite -- the places where we spend most of our food dollars.

And do we spend: 

Our family of four has 3 meat eaters and 1 pescatarian (me). 

We often prepare two breakfasts and dinners -- one for my wife, son and mother-in-law, all of whom eat beef, pork and poultry; and a second one for me.

I favor wild-caught seafood, egg-white omelets stuffed with smoked salmon and spinach; big salads, organic pasta and produce, organic quinoa and reduced-fat cheese. I haven't eaten poultry, beef or lamb since 2010.

Victor's Healthy Kitchen

About 2 years ago, I began posting cooking videos at Victor's Healthy Kitchen on YouTube that reflect my love for healthy food, and I continue to do so.

Lately, the videos have shown the disruptions in daily life caused by the pandemic -- all a reminder of the many deaths in nearby hospitals, including the one where I served as a volunteer for 8 years before the program was suspended about a month ago.

See: Victor's Healthy Kitchen

I started writing about food in 1999, when I worked at The Record of Hackensack, and continued to do so after I left the newspaper, launching a food blog in 2009 to explore the evils of factory farms, harmful antibiotics in farm animals, and the widespread use of cancer-causing pesticides on produce.

See: Do You Really Know What You're Eating?

Lines everywhere

On Monday afternoon, I drove to the Costco Warehouse in Teterboro, and found other members lined up single file with shopping carts, and eventually, employees outside herded us into 4 lines.

The wait to get into the warehouse was only about 15 minutes, but I found shortages.

A Costco employee wiped down my shopping cart handle as I joined the line, and inside the store, masked and gloved employees at registers and exits were separated from shoppers by plexiglass, and social distancing signs were everywhere.

I was able to find fresh wild-caught Mahi-Mahi from Ecuador, and a 1-pound package of organic spinach, but there was no Organic Spring Mix from Earthbound Farm.

I used the Mahi-Mahi the next day prepare a large pot of Butterfly Pasta with 4 Fishes that all of us ate for dinner.

THE ZISAS: Hackensack High School teacher Anthony Zisa, left, and his father, Ken, the disgraced former Hackensack police chief and Democratic state assemblyman, waiting on line at the Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro on March 31. Below, businesses in the Fairmount section of Hackensack have been closed temporarily by the pandemic.

MICROWAVE REPAIR: On Tuesday morning, a GE repairman came to our home to investigate a loud buzzing noise when the door of our 30-inch Advantium Microwave Oven is closed, and then ordered the parts to repair the appliance. He's due back to make the repair next week.

TESLA MOBILE SERVICE: Later Tuesday, an employee of Tesla Mobile Service came to our home to top up the windshield wiper fluid in my Model S, below, after a dashboard message alerted me the supply was low.

'You're retired, now what?" is a question that is as relevant now as it was in 2008

FILLING MY TIME: One way I've tried to fill my time is to continue writing about food and cars -- two areas I covered at The Record of Hackensack in the years before I was forced to retire in 2008. I devoted a third Google blog, Eye on The Record, to the steady decline of the local daily newspaper where I had worked for nearly 30 years. The photos, above and below, are from 99 Ranch Market, a Chinese supermarket that opened in Hackensack in June 2018.

READ: Just when you thought Bergen County had too many Asian markets

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- In May 2008, I suddenly found myself out of a job after nearly 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and food writer at The Record.

Filling my time now remains as much of a challenge as it was then.

Then, at 63, I started taking classes at Bergen County Community College's Institute for Learning in Retirement, and got the chance to speak to a classroom full of retirees like me:

"You're retired, now what?" was the first of a dozen questions I asked to start what turned out to be a lively discussion.

Bored yet?

Another was, "How would you describe retirement in one word?"

At the time, my one-word answer was, "Boring." 

And in the years since I've also weathered bouts of boredom, despite:

1. Becoming a certified paralegal.
2. Preparing for the trial of an age-discrimination suit against The Record.
3. Starting blogs to continue writing about cars, food and other subjects I explored as a reporter and food writer.
4. Becoming active on Twitter and other social media to remain relevant amid the rise of white nationalism.
5. Running for City Council and Board of Education in Hackensack, where I live, and blogging about the impact on property taxes of  Hackensack University Medical Center and other non-profits, and other local issues.
6. Having open-heart surgery and getting a new valve (from a cow).
7. Holding part-time driving jobs for what basically was chump change.
8. Volunteering as many as 3 days a week at a hospital or day care program for people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. (The definition of a volunteer: An older American who has nothing better to do.)
9. Giving up meat and poultry in favor of eating only seafood, spending a good deal of my time food shopping and preparing meals at home, and emphasizing organics and wild-caught fish. 
10. Starting a cooking channel on YouTube.

Age discrimination

Rosy views of retirement, such as the article that appears this month in Costco Connection magazine, don't help (see more below).

Call us senior citizens, retirees, older Americans or what you will.

But leaving the work world can expose you to mistreatment or discrimination whether you seek part-time employment or volunteer.

Of course, holding a job doesn't make you immune to mistreatment because of your age, especially if you are 50 and older, according to a new data analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute:

"More than half of older U.S. workers are pushed out of longtime jobs, suffering financial damage that is often irreversible."

ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, and the Urban Institute, a think tank, analyzed data from a study that followed a nationally representative sample of about 20,000 people from the time they turned 50 through the rest of their lives.

Read: An age-old problem haunts the workplace

More questions

Here are some other question we discussed back then at the Institute for Learning in Retirement:

• "Besides attending classes here, how do you fill up your time?
• "What takes up most of your time -- hobbies, grandchildren, travel, volunteering or something else?
• "Do you feel The Record and other media are paying attention to your concerns as a senior citizen?
• "Have you seen any articles on staying busy during retirement?
• "Would you describe yourself as affluent, well off or financially stable?"

Finances

Luckily, finances have never been a concern since I was forced to leave The Record in 2008. My wife and I, and our college-age son live comfortably.

I own my home free and clear, and in 2015, I used $30,000 from my retirement fund for a down payment on an all-electric Tesla Model S, which I charge with the 60-plus solar panels on our roof. 

When I took part-time jobs, my goal was to fill my time and earn a little pocket money.

One job I didn't get was as a part-time product specialist in Tesla's Paramus showroom, where I venture to guess no worker is over 35 years old.

For all his accomplishments, Elon Musk, the genius behind Tesla and SpaceX, appears to discriminate against older Americans like me. 

Social Security

Another question I asked then to fellow retirees at Bergen Community College, but one that remains relevant today:

• "Are you concerned about talk in Congress on cutting Social Security and Medicare?
• "Do you want more opportunity to interact with younger people -- in this [college] setting or elsewhere?
• "Do you feel isolated or do you feel you are a valued member of society?"

5 STEPS: The cover of Costco Connection, a magazine for members of Costco Wholesale.

'Life after work'

The cover story in the January 2019 Costco Connection, a magazine for members of Costco Wholesale, quotes "several experts to provide tips and advice for the road ahead," according to the table of contents.

Editorial Director Tim Talevich says, "The common theme among the experts ... is that your retirement can be truly special, if you prepare as much as possible.

"Find out about Medicare, Social Security and those other essentials. Spend some time examining your values and strengths. Then go out and create the best life for yourself, your family and your community."

But I rolled my eyes when I saw the story's headline on Page 30:

"5 steps

 to an awesome

 retirement"