During the outbreak of COVID we lived right across the street from one of the most popular branches of Trader Joe's, in Brooklyn Heights, which frequently had long lines to get in. What began as a silly distraction during those tense days turned into a full-blown community movement.

I created TraderJoesLine as a very basic Twitter account where I would literally look out my window and tweet how many people were on line at any given time. Remember those early days when people were hoarding food, scared to go outside? My simple updates would help people plan their day and provide a little joy during very stressful times. I think journalists (including the Wall Street Journal) loved covering what I was doing because it was a rare "feel-good" story during otherwise harrowing times.