Hoarding and Herding
There’s a pandemic happening right now. At times like this, we get to see both the best and the worst in people. One of the worst things in us is rugged individualism, which leads us to buy more than our share of toilet paper. We were legitimately running low this week, and I grew concerned that we would run out. I made a Walmart run at 4:30 AM on the off-chance that they had restocked. The shelves were 100% depleted. Thankfully, our local CVS had a few packs left. I restrained myself to buy only one—because I care about the herd to which I belong.
However, there is one product that I cannot stop hoarding: Twist-Erase III mechanical pencils. They are the finest pencils in the world, with jumbo erasers, a comfortable grip, and a solid assembly.
Sometimes I give these away to my students, but lately I’ve been putting myself before the herd. I fear that Pentel will stop making them. They’ve introduced new Twist-Erase models that are not worthy of the name.
Here’s my stockpile at present:
I am ready to weather this storm.