Quote of the Day (Judith Viorst, on How a Hershey Bar Indicates Strength)

“Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands—and then eat just one of the pieces.”— American humorist, newspaper journalist, children’s book writer, and psychoanalysis researcher Judith Viorst, Love and Guilt and the Meaning of Life, Etc. (1979)

Tweet of the Day (‘Madazzahatter,’ on a Weighty Matter)

“My wife caught me standing on the bathroom scale, sucking in my stomach...

“ ‘Ha­­! That’s not going to help,’ she said.

“ ‘Sure, it does,’ I said. ‘It’s the only way I can see the numbers.’”—@Madazzahatter, May 3, 2017 reddit.com post  

Four months ago, a former work colleague suggested a Zoom conference for our group of the recently unemployed. Another colleague declined by pointing to the “COVID-15” syndrome—i.e., the amount of pounds several people may have added during the pandemic-induced lockdown.

Though I have not seen her in a while, I can understand the concerns of this second former co-worker. Even during warmer weather, COVID-19 closed the gyms that many health-conscious people once frequented. At the height of the summer heat and humidity, the salubrious benefits of walking outside faded.

Furthermore, one of the worst aspects of the COVID isolation is the virtual confinement to home, which has left millions of Americans with all-too-tempting proximity to the refrigerator. With the coming of colder weather, even the possibility of exercise outside is likely to disappear.

The wonder, then, is not so many people have put on weight since the onset of COVID-19, but that they haven’t put on even more pounds.

Joke of the Day (Del Harrison, on Her Dieting)

“I’m excited because I just lost 25 pounds. I needed to lose weight to get back in my girdle.”—Stand-up comic Del Harrison quoted in “Joke of the Week,” Time Out New York, Oct. 16-22, 2014

Joke of the Day (Pauly Casillas, on How Close He’s Come to a Diet)

“The closest I've been to a diet this year is erasing food searches from my browser history." — PaulyPeligroso (Pauly Casillas), tweet of Apr. 20, 2014

Quote of the Day (Comic Jim Gaffigan, on His Salad Dilemma)

“I hate when I try to order a salad and my mouth says, ‘I'll have a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.’"—Stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan, tweet of Apr. 29, 2014

Quote of the Day (My Friend Steve, on Vacation Calories)

“It’s a well-known scientific fact that calories don’t count when you’re on vacation!”—My friend, New York City tour guide extraordinaire Steve, on more than one occasion

(Photo of a very simple rhubarb pie, May 2008, DocteurCosmos, from Wikimedia Commons)

Quote of the Day (Joe E. Lewis, on the Futility of Certain Resolutions)

“I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating, and in 14 days I lost two weeks.”—Comedian and singer Joe E. Lewis (1902-1971)