This is a really good moment in time, for people to keep their hands to themselves. I once received the stink eye from a mother of reasonably small child, after he started touching the things in my grocery cart. I simply said "those are my things, please don't touch them." She glared at me, but my thought was, I don't have any clue where that child's hands have been. I don't want them all over my groceries. And I don't remember that the child was even sick, not like the lady you encountered!

Tough in a grocery (discount or not); I don't worry about canned goods - my concern is in the produce department. I watch, the clerks use gloves, but lots of folks pick up and put back many items (apples, plums, etc.) Could I use all this to start a special diet? I am sure that no one has harmed the inside of my whiskey bottle!

Wear a simple white diaper like surgical style mask onto which you’ve written

“VERY SICK! STAY FAR BACK!” In scarlet Sharpie. You can buy little blinking LED lights and pin them on you and your cart.

Invest in a few of those 90 decibel personal alarms. Tent your shopping cart with dry cleaner bags and yellow crime scene tape.

Make a demonic Chucky recording loop that warns people to stand back. Snap some elastic bands.

I walked into a pain clinic a week or so ago. Most of the people were hacking and coughing. A lot of them not even trying to cover their mouths. I waited for about 45 minutes in there. People are just gross and don't care about any one else.

Wow, Petalique, you gave me exactly what I was looking for - a good laugh. In fact I almost fell off the chair. We need more people like you to rescue us from this world of fear and morbid dread of EVERY FREAKING THING.

Thanks, ritaweeda, my comment was tongue in cheek overdrive, but while generally not a germ-a-phobe, I truly dislike being sick with a cold or flu. As a nice favor to friends, I used to babysit their young kiddies for free when they had to go for a daylong class, or the daycare was closed. Too often. I sometimes had four colds a season.

I no longer spend time with kids, but the advantage is, I don’t tend to catch colds, except last year, when shopping, a woman with whom I was speaking (no contact and I was 3-4 feet away) turned her head to cough, the informed me she’d been battling a bad cold. Gee, thanks. After about 2 to three days My throat began to itch and feel sore, the next day fatigue, sore throat, rhinitis. Grrr. And, definitely yes yes, it was that woman’s cold. I was sick for three weeks. And I had a lot of work to do. Bah!

I’m afraid I would be a grumpy toad if I had been in that sneezy cough waiting room. “Look here, you imbeciles!”

Ever go into the lav of one of those big store and see the many messy toilets? Flushing and tidying up seems beyond some users. :-/ Not everyone is going to score over 90 on an IQ test, or be able to follow the directions for making a peanut butter sandwich. I use Alcohol-based hand cleaner, avoid public knobs and handles, and avoid the cold air blow-dryer at Lowe’s, MacDonald’s and some other public places. They just push atomized cold bathroom air onto one’s clean hands. Blech.

Best, Grumpy