Home Scandal and Gossip California hero: Encinitas local starts thriving street corner toilet paper exchange

California hero: Encinitas local starts thriving street corner toilet paper exchange

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Johnny Blue Encinitas toilet paper
Johnny Blue Encinitas toilet paper exchange becomes a California local favorite during coronavirus ordeal.
Johnny Blue Encinitas toilet paper
Johnny Blue Encinitas toilet paper exchange becomes a California local favorite during coronavirus ordeal. Image via screenshot.

Johnny Blue Encinitas toilet paper exchange becomes a hit with California locals grappling with sanitation products shortage during coronavirus ordeal.

A 33-year-old physical therapist and avid surfer from Encinitas, California has been hailed a hero after starting an impromptu toilet paper exchange in response to the hoarding of toilet paper and other sanitation products in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Come Saturday morning, Johnny Bleu took a cardboard sign bearing the simple request — ‘Share your toilet paper’ — and camped out on the corner of El Camino Real and Encinitas Blvd. And that’s when his faith in humanity was ever revived.

Drivers stopped to drop off rolls of toilet paper and, just as quickly, Blue would hand them off in an impromptu TP stock exchange.

‘It just inspired me to remind people, listen, if you have a lot of something that probably means there are people who probably don’t have very much of it, because you took it all,’ Blue told via the Sandiego Union Tribune. ‘So sharing it is probably a good thing to keep in mind.’

Adding, ‘This guy came here and said he just ran out and was going to a bunch of stores and couldn’t find any,’ Blue said. ‘Somebody had given me some so I gave it to him. He was stoked.’

‘He was like, ‘Do you want me to pay you?’ I said, ‘No, man. Somebody gave it to me. Take it.’’

‘People are loving it,’ Blue reiterated. ‘People are honking, smiling, laughing. It’s actually been good because it’s actually been kind of a rough time right now.’

‘I just want to encourage everyone to be better,’

The run on toilet paper and other items such as hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes has led local grocery stores and national chains such as Target and WalMart to limit the amounts shoppers can purchase at one time. Never-mind locals calling 911 in Newport, Oregon upon running out of toilet paper

Government officials, including President Trump, are urging shoppers to not hoard supplies and reminded the public that the supply chain is healthy.

‘I think people want a sense of community,’ Blue reflected. ‘When things are really challenging, people are looking to band together and be unified. It feels like I kind of struck on a common theme where people were thinking, ‘Why are people hoarding toilet paper?’ Blue said.

Blue said he planned to return to his post Sunday.

‘I just want to encourage everyone to be better,’ he said. ‘Difficult times can reveal us to ourselves and help us see ourselves more clearly.’

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