What's to Eat?

When you live in a government-gated exclave where egress is sufficiently burdensome to reduce one’s desires to cross the border unnecessarily, the issue of food is a big deal. Fortunately, the Canadians are interested not only in cheap U.S. gasoline, but also in cheap U.S. food: things that, in Canada, are priced higher because of government supports. It is highly unlikely that the International Market (above) would be interested in providing an extensive selection of food for the paltry 1300 or so Americans who are here year round. But, with the dollar weak and the gas prices relatively low, the Canadians help us along by ensuring that a big grocery store stays open. Talk about hands (and mouths) across the border!

Yesterday, a big summer weekend on the Point and a big summer shopping weekend at the International Market, all the check stands were operating by noon. There weren’t long lines at any of them and nobody was buying giant shopping carts filled with processed foods, but still it was a busy day and notable for that. I asked Rick, the produce guy who was checking, how business was. ‘Best ever,’ he said in his world-class taciturn but not unfriendly manner. (One of my regular tasks in life is to try to engage Rick in conversation, and yesterday was my very best day yet on that front. We discussed the pleasures of not having to arise early in the morning when retired--more of a pleasure for me, of course, than for him since he was at work at 8 a.m.)

Good business is good for us because that means that the International Market will be continuing to supply us with free range chicken and New Zealand apples and such produce and other fresh goods as we like. Half a dozen brands of ice cream, at a minimum, for example. Grapes, constantly. The B.C. Delta, which is minutes away from the Market grows a lot of produce, as does the farther away but still reachable Okanagan, which also grows summer fruits of exceptional quality. We rarely if ever get any of those, of course, because….well, I don’t exactly know why we don’t, but if you want those, you have to actually go over to Canada to buy them. NAFTA doesn’t seem to be working for us on that front. But it does mystify me why we can get grapes from Chile but can’t get cherries from the Okanagan.

I can make my peace with such limitations, of course. When I lived in Yap, in the South Pacific near the equator, in 1975-6, the only grocery store on the 25-square-mile island was not a worthy competitor to the average 7-11 in rural Nevada. I’m happy to have all that they offer here, and happy to have them continue to offer it even when the U.S. dollar is strong and the Canadians aren’t buying so much, as was the case for most of the past ten years.

Yesterday, the guy in line behind me (I was third, he was 4th) asked his wife, ‘Isn’t there an express lane?” I wondered whether he realized that for 8 or 9 months of the year, there is only one checkstand open most of the time and no line of people at all, and in the dead of winter, I am often the only person in the entire store other than the employees. The produce and bread isn’t always as varied or as fresh as one might wish, but at least I have no longings for an express lane. It’s nice to be satisfied with what’s on offer.