American Consequences - December 2020

FINAL WORD

While the circumstances around us at Le Bernardin were odd, no doubt, there was a hopefulness to people gathering now that would not have been present back in March or April. You could sense a beaten-down but still-trying-to-push-through attitude in the restaurant staff and our fellow diners as well. Amidst all the anxiety and fear of possible infection, the overcrowding of hospitals, and the countless media stories meant to terrify the masses and drive as many clicks as possible, there’s a perception that by late spring, life will be a lot better. That’s not close enough that we can start celebrating it now... there’s still a long, cold COVID-19 winter ahead... But it may just give us some additional mental fortitude to push through this nightmare.

And at 10 p.m. sharp, thanks to a New York City mandate that no intelligent person be- lieves is anything but idiotic, all guests has to be chased out of the restaurant immediately... no last bites, no finishing the final glass of wine. COVID-19, the health authorities seem to believe, is particularly virulent after 10. Putting all of this aside – the idiotic pandemic theater that doesn’t make anyone safer, the city and state government edicts that are strangling businesses and driving sane people crazy – it was a lovely evening. It was good to see people, to be around people, eat delicious food, and live life. Once you begin to do those things, it hits you how much of that has been taken away from us these last nine months. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the United States and much of the rest of the world, but we now know the path ahead will lead to victory against the virus.

What that means for this holiday season is that we should try to appreciate how far we’ve come and some of the unexpected silver linings we’ve experienced. The change forced on our daily routines has created time for personal growth. CHECK OUT OU

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December 2020

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