Avoid living high off the hog

A walk through one of today’s huge supermarkets leaves me speechless, penniless and gasping for breath. Filet mignon and Alaska salmon, about $20 a pound. I asked a clerk “are people paying these prices?” She replied “yes.”

Even with eye popping prices, people are buying in our good old U.S.A. The lines are still long. What recession?

Over indulgence and obesity go hand in hand. I have always been on the lean and mean side, thanks to my Great Depression starvation lessons. The standard menu was bread, pasta marinara, beans and vegetables from our huge survival garden.

Chicken coop

Some of our more affluent East Side neighbors had chicken coops, which supplied them with eggs and chickens. The only eggs we bought were called storage (or old) eggs. I think some of them were about ready to hatch, with a little more storage time.

I still maintain my weight today at age 87 of 192 pounds, that I had when I got married 59 years ago. I try to leave the table hungry at home and take one half of my restaurant meals home. That’s how I beat obesity, along with my daily one-mile walk.

In the Great Depression, I could only look at the food, but had no money to buy it. Today I look at the food, but I am still living low on the hog.

During the Depression, we had an involuntary starvation program, today we have to initiate voluntary starvation programs to beat the weight problem.

Michael J. Lacivita, is a Youngstown retiree who has been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.