The best and worst of times

     The opening of Dicken's "Tale of Two Cities" is probably more relevant than ever in this time of pandemic.   Two pieces in today's NYT illustrate the best and worst that humans are capable.
     In the first piece, an op-ed, Amanda Cohen, the chef/owner of a restaurant called "Dirt Candy" speculates on the future of the restaurant business in the city.   She employs 20-30 cooks,waiters and dishwashers and had to let them all go or face immediate bankruptcy.  Operating on a margin of around 2%, she doesn't have the deep pockets necessary to ride out an extended shut down.  She wants to give her employees health insurance, sick leave and all the other benefits most of her customers take for granted.  Ms. Cohen wonders if people would be willing to pay $8.00 for a latte if that means the barista would have  health care or if customers would be willing to pay $100.00 for a couple of hamburgers and a few beers if that means their server would have sick leave.  Of course, living where I do, the prices she casually threw out were fairly shocking to me.  However, I understand and applaud the sentiment she expressed more eloquently than I have don.
    The second piece, a news story is about the worst we humans are capable of.   In a Wegmans store in NJ, a middle aged man was asked by a worker to maintain the recommended 6 feet of distance.  Instead, he leaned into her, coughed and said he had the coronavirus.  He also told several employees they were lucky to have jobs.  He was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat and assault.   The ugly American indeed.  Whether or not he had the virus, this was the equivalent of yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater.  He should get the maximum penalties allowed by law.  Being a douchebag is not a protected right in this country.