Will Johnston: It's simple - follow the rules

Look after people you know and strangers alike (even from afar), says Will. Photo: Supplied.

What a disappointing YEAR this WEEK has been, amiright?!

What a weird thing it is to be inside and isolated from most other humans because of something we can't even see in our beautiful BOP air. But it's happened. It sucks. But it's clearly necessary.

Let me tell you a little story about the minority vs the majority I heard this week while I was doing my weekly shop, in an unpanicked manner, at my local Tauranga supermarket.

Standing in the checkout line, with my usual weekly shop - okay fine, I bought one extra bottle of wine and some Kiwi onion dip. I catch the words coming out of the idiotic mouth of the lady in front of me, she says to the teenage boy who's working the till:

"We should just all get coronavirus and then we'd all be immune and everything would be fine, it's just a big media beat-up."

Ooooo lady. Hold me back.

She proceeds: "If I could just go to the hospital and get given the virus and be done with it, recover and move on with my life, that would be best. It's going to spread and we are all going to get it and we should just accept that."

Our friendly teenage checkout operator, trying to not make eye-contact with her, says: "I'm pretty sure we are trying to stop that and I'm not that keen to get it aye."

To which our antagonist, who reminds me of your chain-smoking 50-something aunty Bev, says: "Well too bad mate, you're going to get it. We're all going to get it."

That's totally what a teenager who has been dealing with panic buying boomers for the last week of his life, while on minimum wage, really wants to hear.

At this point I openly laughed. As did the woman behind me - because annoying Bev talks in a voice that is a couple of decibels too loud, cos she 'likes to be heard'.

Bev heard me laugh. She turned. We locked eyes. She saw my opinion of her all over my face. Then she saw the lady behind me and her matching opinion. And she went to say something ... Then ... Bev's phone rang and she prioritised answering it ... That's the first good choice Bev has made in the last five minutes of her life.

Lady behind me said: "Jeez I hope she's not a teacher. We really don't need that right now!" Amen.

What we need in this unprecedented situation in the Bay of Plenty is actually really simple ... Follow the rules. Look after people you know and strangers alike (even from afar) and follow the latest information at covid19.govt.nz. It's not rocket science. It's not even primary school science. Cos they're all closed!

I'll be on air from 9am-3pm every weekday on The Hits BOP 95FM over the next four weeks if you want to get local info, chat, or share anything at all, we're the only local day show in the greater Tauranga area, I've got you! At least on the info side of things. And potentially on the having a laugh in the face of it all side too, because what else CAN you do right now?!

- Will Johnston is the 9am-3pm host for The Hits Bay of Plenty 95FM. He's also a celebrant and MC.

Follow Will on Instagram on @radiowill.

Will's show on The Hits Bay of Plenty is proudly sponsored by local flooring business Gerrand Floorings, where a world of flooring inspiration, leading flooring brands and expert advice meet. Find Gerrand Floorings on 123 Hewletts Rd, Mount Maunganui. 0800 437 7263. www.gerrand.co.nz