Gramsci raised an eyebrow, prompting the Cow to continue.
"On Wednesday, when the temperature must have been - oh, at least 37 - I had to go and get a raincoat. Where do you find winter coats in the middle of summer? Well, it turns out the coat shop is no longer just a coat shop, but they did have some coats, and I had to stand there in the sweltering heat trying them on, melting under the eyes of the other customers who were shopping for bikinis and school uniforms!"
Gramsci shrugged. International travel tended to have such disadvantages, after all.
"And then," continued the Cow, "yesterday! After it became apparent that life was not going to return, I had to go and shop for raincoats of the other kind!"
Gramsci looked bemused. "More raincoats? Plus an umbrella?" he asked tentatively.
"Condoms!" sighed the Cow. "When teenagers are being left to their own devices, with visiting girlfriends, one needs to ensure that Proper Preparations are in place!"
Gramsci reeled. The thought of condom shopping with a teenager boggled the nerve ganglion that sufficed for his mind.
"Did you know," asked the Cow, "how wide a selection you can now get, all within a single brand?" Gramsci didn't. He wasn't sure he wanted to, either.
"It's as bad as everything else!" the Cow grumped. "Thousands of alternatives for shampoo. Millions of choices of pasta sauce. Gazillions of different kinds of tea!"
Gramsci had heard the Cow raging about Consumer Society and The Myth of Choice a few times too many, already. He really didn't want to go there again.
"So..." he asked nervously, "did you find something suitable?"
The Cow rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should at least be thankful he didn't try them on on the shop to decide!"