The Wilton Conservation Commission writes this letter with gratitude to the people who helped with the town’s recent town-wide cleanup day.
Contributed photoTo the Editors:
There is a problem that plagues every one of us, and it is high time that it be addressed. I’m talking about the dead zone in Wilton CVS Pharmacy. Wiltonians, we have suffered enough, and this letter is a formal call to action. If you aren’t sure what I am referring to, allow me to paint you a picture.
It’s 12 p.m. and you know better than to come to CVS in the middle of the day, yet you find yourself pulling into the parking lot. You park in the back — braving the narrow strait that lies between CVS and the mysteriously vacant, yet somehow still-in-business law office. You find a spot beside an Acura with a “WHS Band” sticker, and feel right at home. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself for the chaos about to ensue.
As you pull open the heavy wooden doors, you are bombarded by the smell of sanitizer and cough syrup. Walking briskly, you don’t bat an eye at the cosmetics or greeting cards. You’re a seasoned CVS shopper who won’t be fooled into impulse purchases. You’re on a mission. You turn the corner, and your jaw drops when you see half a dozen people waiting in line at the pharmacy. Crestfallen, you take your place at the back of the line, cursing yourself for walking in in the first place.
A few minutes go by, and the line hasn’t budged. You look around and attempt to distract yourself. There is a generous selection of light reading, with titles like “Finding your Spiritual Path,” and “God’s Gift.” Somehow, these books don’t appeal to you as your head aches from the combination of shrieking toddlers and fluorescent lights.
You watch a handful of moms with the same hair colorist shift their weight from sneaker to sneaker and compulsively check their diamond-studded watches. Finally, the pharmacist calls for the next customer and an elderly man with hearing aids shuffles forward. You have a mid-life crisis as you realize that you are staring at yourself in 30 years. Your palms sweat as you question every life decision you’ve ever made.
Although the effort is futile, you pull your smartphone out of your jeans, hoping that social media can end this nightmare. You see that you have literally no service. Closing your eyes, you lean into the misery that is the line at CVS. You focus on the light at the end of the tunnel: your well-deserved brand new bottle of antidepressants.
Does this sound familiar? People of Wilton, we don’t have to live this way. It’s 2019. Waiting in line at CVS does not have to be modern-day torture. Let’s bring Wilton into the 21st century, starting with cell service in CVS pharmacy.
Olivia Lawlor