Page 26 - ATR 2 2020 digital

AS BLEAK AS LIFE SEEMED

AT THAT MOMENT, IT WAS
REASSURING THAT ONLY
TWO MILES FROM MY HOME
THE SUPPLY CHAIN WAS
HOLDING UP BETTER THAN
WALL STREET.

—JOE QUINN,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
ARKANSAS GOOD ROADS
FOUNDATION

Joe Quinn
Guest Writer

I’d been home alone for days watching the COVID-19 coverage when it finally became
clear I had to break down and make a grocery run or not eat. I drove on empty streets
past dark restaurants thinking my neighborhood looked like it was a snow day, but there
was no snow or ice or happy kids. After days of not taking the car out of the garage, it was
disturbing to see for myself what cable news had been incessantly telling me: local life was
shutting down.
It was late when I walked into “my” Walmart Neighborhood Market. Considering the
circumstances, the store was remarkably clean. Extra associates had been brought in to
restock shelves that had been stripped earlier that day. I had seen all the news stories about
toilet paper and bottled water being hard to find, but what I did find was basically…


ILLUSTRATION BY BRENT BENNETT

26 Issue 2 2020 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT