Why Can’t YOU Wear Your Mask? Why Can’t YOU Lose Weight?

“Obesity is a double victory for consumerism. Instead of eating little, which will lead to economic contraction, people eat too much and then buy diet products - contributing to economic growth twice over.”
— Yuval Noah Harari

Good morning, good evening, good afternoon, or whenever these words are finding your beautiful mind, it’s 5:42 a.m. here, a lovely morning with some nice strong Death Wish coffee.  If you’re not drinking Death Wish, you should be drinking Death Wish.   Death Wish Coffee sponsors this word soup; I want to thank them for their millions of dollars of support.

We had a lovely leisurely morning; we got up, I wrote some stuff, cleaned up email, set up an appointment to help a friend start a new business.  We walked Parker Van Halen using her new gentle leader, she’s not a fan, but it’s good for her.  I had been using a retractable leash, but any time she saw a squirrel, she would almost pull my arm out of the socket; this silence of the lambs get up made her a little less prone to sprint.

We got home, worked a little, then walked a mile to meet my friend Matt, he’s been a friend for 18 years, I hired him to help me become a better salesperson, he succeeded, and we have been friends ever since.  We meet about once a quarter to catch up; he’s got three kids, two in college, one in 8th grade, he runs a successful sales coaching business in downtown Indy.

We were talking about the reason for the six-foot rule during the pandemic; that distance comes from a late 1800’s assessment of the proper space to stay away if not wanting to contract tuberculosis. Science baby!  We talked about his decision to pull his daughter out of public school and go private due to the nature of the public school system.  I have many other friends who have pulled their kids; I’m concerned many public schools will be adversely selected due to their curriculum and policies; we will see what happens.

We walked back home, closing our movement and exercise rings; cousin is here, he was running some appointments outside, we ran a couple inside, and then we all walked to meet my friend Paul at the Dugout, our local hangout.   The conversation turned to how various communities handled the pandemic; my cousin is from Michigan, a pretty authoritarian state with the rules. We spent most of our time in Colorado reasonably open. Paul was in Fishers, Indiana, also fairly relaxed.

We agreed that most did their best to navigate the changing data and understanding of the virus.  I pointed out that one side of the political aisle seemed to be more restrictive than another; it was an experiment in government that will give data points to future leaders, what to do, and what not to do.  Some states thrived, not having much of an impact on their employment rates. In contrast, others had run away unemployment due to the government shutting down many of the “nonessential” businesses.  Remind me, who gets to deem essential and nonessential?

I just read where Matthew McConaughey is questioning the vaccine for his young children.  He’s asking for a little more information before injecting his children with the vaccine; I’m sure he will get reprimanded from the media, do as you are told, or we will question your intelligence.  Is it possible there is more than one way to keep yourself and your family safe?  Do we still have the freedom to choose?

I was reminded of a story that occurred during the height of the pandemic.  My friend living in downtown Denver got on an elevator; he forgot his mask, as did the other man in the enclosed vessel.  On the next floor, a young lady got on the elevator and exclaimed to the two men, “why can you just wear a mask?”  One of the men looked at her and said, “Why don’t you lose weight?”  As her head began to explode, the man said, “I’m sorry, I thought we were trying to tell each other how to live our best life?”

It goes back to people meeting people where they are.  I don’t think it appropriate for the young lady to criticize the men, nor do I believe it is friendly or fair for the man to point out the woman’s weight.  So the question is when meeting people where they are, is it fair to touche’ when pushed.  Does a person have a right to fire a missile when fired upon, or should we end the war?  If someone punches you, is it ok to punch back?

That is the question I would ask you to discuss with your mother, brother, lover, or other.  Use this example and see what they think is appropriate.  Was the lady correct in her rebuke of the silly selfish men who were only thinking about themselves maybe infecting society with the virus?  Did the man overstep his rights to point out that obesity was a key factor in catching the virus, and he was trying to help society with his words? I think a good discussion can be had using this example. 

Ok, enough agitation from this old white guy; I’m going to get a little work done before meeting my daughter to head up to meet some clients. So we’re heading to Dunkirk, Indiana, to meet with some friends and clients, check in, and see how they are doing.  We will deliver some albums along the way, share the news of her recent awareness of a child growing inside her.

I hope these words don’t hurt you, don’t trigger you; I hope that you understand sticks and stones and jack and jill did go up the hill.  The wheels on the bus go round and round, and Humpty had a bad day. But, ants will march, Hickory will Dickory and Dock and hush little baby, it’s just words.

“Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest.”
— Michael Pollan