Have you ever sat around pondering what mineral oil, hearing aid batteries and orbital handheld sanders have in common?

My guess is you haven’t. (And, if you have, might I suggest you explore other hobbies, such as maybe juggling or ice fishing.)

But hear me out on this, and you’ll see where we go.

My father lived with us the final three full years of his life, and unfortunately the pandemic was with us smack dab in the middle of that run. As we all know, many items were in short supply during that time — either because of the pandemic itself or the ensuing supply-chain issues. Toilet paper, disinfecting wipes and hand-sanitizer were hard to come by; even staples such as flour, Heinz ketchup and wine vinegar disappeared from shelves at times.

So, how were you on mineral oil?

Chances are, unless you were a faithful user of it — like Dad — you hardly missed it. But I know, from firsthand experience, there was a stretch when it was almost impossible to find. For whatever reasons.

Whenever my wife or I would go out — which wasn’t often as we tried to stay away from stores, of course — we would always ask Dad if he needed anything. He said mineral oil so often that it became sort of a running joke, like, “Hon, I’m going out to buy mineral oil, you need........

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