In our house, we’ve been trying to turn things around a bit. We’ve been eating far too much junk food and it shows. Oh man, does it show.
So, we are eating healthier, eating less, and exercising. The Lunetta DietTM as we call it consists of stopping snacks between meals, drinking water when you get hungry and seeing daylight on your plate.
What does “daylight on your plate” mean? Don’t load up so much food on the plate that you can’t see it.
A better technical term is “portion control.” And how I hate it.
When I was younger, I could eat to my heart’s content and never gain an ounce. Now, I simply smell that delicious Vincenzo’s pizza and I gain 5 pounds.
Just looking at it gives me 3.
The other thing is TV. We watch far too much. A recently discovered invention, however, has caught our attention. It has many pieces of paper with printed words all glued together. I think they call them “books.”
Mental health is also very tough. One thing we have discovered is that we need people. Yes, the Zoom calls help but nothing can replace breaking bread with family and friends. We recently started going back to church (socially distanced, with masks) and it made all the difference to us.
Yes, I know it’s risky.
But, I think we risk insanity if we don’t interact.
What will happen after the election has me really worried, too. It appears that no matter what happens and who wins, the other side will declare that they will not accept the results and anarchy will ensue.
We can’t even take it to the Supreme Court as the left will claim the court has been “packed” with conservatives.
Aside No. 1: this is not “court packing.” Court packing is when extra justices beyond the nine are added to the court to influence decision-making. It is not simply adding a justice that you don’t like to an open seat.
Aside No. 2: I heard a prominent LQBTQ+ group call Amy Coney Barrett’s Christian religious beliefs “perverted.” My, my my, how times have changed.
After the election, if we have a massive constitutional crisis, where can we turn? Someone will have to be an adult to save the country, and I cannot see anyone on the horizon who can do it.
As is usual, I suspect that conservatives will need to compromise and liberals will get their way. This seems to have been the pattern over the last 30 years and it will need to continue if we are to have stability.
But, what if conservatives will no longer compromise? I think the left is entirely incapable of any behavior that could be interpreted as conciliatory. Convinced by the righteousness of their various causes, it has blinded them to the needs of others. Conservatives may have caught this same disease.
On the economic front, I see only doom and gloom. Maria’s Deli over on Lyons Avenue recently closed. This treasure in the heart of our city wasn’t merely some ignorable little eating joint. It was a place for family gatherings and excellent Italian food.
Now, it’s gone.
I hear of folks who cannot get jobs and had to move back home. One young friend of ours found out she was one of several hundred applicants for a single teaching job. She gave up her apartment and moved back to Bakersfield with Mom and Dad.
Even with the pending next round of stimulus payments, it may not be enough to save the coming tidal wave of evictions and business closings.
I can only see one way out of this. We must open California back up for business. Of course, we must do it in such a way as to be prudent with masks and social distancing. If people cannot feed their children and keep a roof over their heads, what is the point of all the COVID controls?
The economic damage being done to us may be far greater than we imagine. While we need to maintain a healthy respect for COVID, a collapse of all economic systems will cause much greater social unrest. Picture the chaos of Portland in every community on a nightly basis.
California must be opened back up and now. By doing so, we might decrease the coming storm.
Steve Lunetta is a resident of Santa Clarita and appreciates going to his church very much!
