Editorial

Since March, every one of these editorials I’ve written has addressed the toll that the coronavirus was taking on coin-op, and the reaction among a lot of readers has probably been “tell me something I don’t know.” Okay, maybe it’s time to actually do that and change the subject to brighten the day by sharing some things that came over the internet from a friend.

I’ve no idea where he got these tidbits of trivia, most of which I didn’t know. But anything to put a smile on the reader’s face…or a useful thought in his or her heart…might be in order this month. Speaking of which, here’s the first thought:

“Smile! It’s the ultimate antidepressant.” And similarly: “People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don’t.” The list also includes another reason to avoid stress: “Stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.”

Then come a couple of reasons for everyone to keep busy, such as: “Laziness and inactivity kill just as many people as smoking.” And: “If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there’s a 50% chance you’ll die within the next three years.”

Moving right along, here are some mostly useless, but hugely fun, facts like: “There are at least six people in the world who look exactly like you and there’s a 90% chance you’ll meet one of them in your lifetime.” Back in the days we used to bind our magazines on a machine that’s since been junked, one of the guys working with me named Pat, said: “Eddie, you look just like the guy in the Leave It to Beaver TV show,” to which I responded: “Tell me the character’s name so I know which guy to look for.” Did you get that gem?

And here’s one that most of us already know: “If honey bees disappeared from the earth, we’d all die within four years.” Another dark thought: “You can survive without eating for weeks, but you’ll only live 11 days without sleeping.” Finally: “There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing: food, attractive people and danger.”

There’s no real need for me to run up a list of Covid-related facts here, like: “Without enough money in the cash can, or without enough route locations, or without people allowed in my fun center, or without operators buying my machines or (maybe most depressing) without a business to pass along, my legacy is going to die.” Back in 1985, the great Hispanic author Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote Love In the Time of Cholera. Can such be found in the time of Covid-19? Maybe we can start with a smile until something worth smiling about finally comes along.