As I stated yesterday, Lent is more than halfway over. For my Lenten penance, I traditionally abstain from pizza. Any of you that know me well, realize that this is a true sacrifice for me. Pizza is easily my favorite food. That is why it is what I choose to abstain from during the 40 days of Lent. Those long 40 days of Lent. Those extremely long 40 days of Lent.
Is Lent over with yet?
I remember the first time I explained why I give up pizza to Bev, my friend from England. At first, I think she thought I was crazy. However, the next time I spoke with Bev, she proudly announced that she was giving up crisps for Lent. I should explain that crisps are what the English call any sort of potato chips and Bev enjoys her crisps as much as I do my pizza.
That was eight years ago and Bev has abstained from crisps each Lent since then. And she’s not even Catholic, just a very dear friend.
On April 21, the day after Easter, I will be ordering a pizza. And I can’t wait. Living in Kenosha I have well over 30 pizzerias to choose from. What a wonderful conundrum! Which one will I order from? Hmm…
Actually it’s not that hard of a choice for me. I have three “go-to” pizzerias, my top choices if you will. Remarkably, my selection was made for me. Before I explain how that can be, let me list my top 10 list.
My Top 10 Kenosha Pizzerias
1. Sal’s
2. Valeo’s
3. Pa’s
4. Luigi’s Pizza
5. DeRango’s
6. Rocky Rococo
7. Casa Capri
8. Jimano’s
9. Infusino’s
10. Kaiser’s
That’s my current list and has been for quite awhile. As I said, the first three are the places that I most often patronize. The quality is so close that I usually rotate among the three. So why is my choice so simple on April 21? Easy – Sal’s and Pa’s are closed on Mondays. Therefore, my abstinence will be broken with a delicious pie from Valeo’s. Sal’s and Pa’s will have to wait a few days.
Before I end this discussion about Kenosha pizzerias, I would like to make one more point. While our fair city is blessed with an abundance of fine pizza restaurants, there are actually three that I avoid like the plague. One is because their pizza is lousy; the second because of their management and the third is guilty of both – lousy pizza and bad management. I’m not naming names, but I will never give any of this trio my business.
With that out of the way, I have one question. Is Lent over yet?
Until next time…from the booth.
Time to do a bit of reflecting. On Monday I did the unthinkable and wrote about politics. Yuck. I’m still trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Blech. I’m not making any promises, but I won’t be writing any more political blogs in the near future. Why you ask? Yesterday, I posted that blog around 11:00am. By 5:00pm I learned that there was new primeval slime oozing out in the unprincipled world of Kenosha politics. You honestly can’t make this shit up, but I can stop writing about it.
For now.
On to something a little less controversial. Hopefully.
It is more than halfway through Lent. During my prayers I have been reading a daily reflection from a booklet by Father Thomas Connery titled “Lent little by little.” Almost all of these reflections are very meaningful and some even seem to be directed specifically at me.
Take the reflection from this past Sunday for example. It even used my name.
Paul was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he became suspicious of his passenger. He just didn’t like his looks and started to feel that he had made a mistake picking him up. Paul checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them. It wasn’t there! He slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out and demanded, “Hand over the wallet immediately!”
Frightened, the hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and Paul drove off. When he arrived home, he was still livid and began to tell his wife about the experience. She interrupted him saying, “Before I forget, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?”
We human beings naturally judge by appearance; we judge the externals. The tricky part is that we need to make judgments. You can’t be naïve and put yourself in harm’s way. We have to discern what is safe and unsafe. We teach our children that very thing. Yet we are challenged to see as God sees, to look beyond the externals of where one lives or what kind of car one drives. Accept the fact that we know very little of the heart of the person by their appearance. Don’t be quick to judge based solely on what you see. Know that there is more to a person than the clothes they wear.
FATHER, I don’t have your eyes, and I don’t have your mind. I can’t see or know everything. Yet I have to make judgments. Help me with your grace to beyond externals and try to know the heart of another. Grant me your eyes that I may see as you see. AMEN.
That reflection really hit home with me. I have been on both ends of this. I have been guilty of judging others without knowing everything, without seeing the whole picture. And, others have also judged me when they had no idea what I was going through or what I was dealing with. It hurts when people jump to conclusions without asking questions. Especially when they are individuals that are close to you.
The bottom line is that we need to treat each other better and refrain from being judgmental. Find out what’s in the other person’s heart and let them know what’s in yours. It’s least we can do for each other. This is especially beneficial with the people we think we know. Remember, people change and so do we.
Until next time…from the booth.
One week from today is going to be a special day of sorts for me. A few significant things will be happening on February 13. Here’s the deal; the most important thing is that it is Ash Wednesday, a Christian observance that marks the first day of Lent. It follows Fat Tuesday, which typically features Mardi Gras celebration. It is a time for fasting, abstinence from meat and prayer in preparation for Easter. I do the fasting and no meat thing on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, with no meat on any Friday during Lent.
Besides the standard dietary adjustments for Lent, I am once again giving up pizza. This has pretty much become a tradition for me. I even “practiced” by abstaining from pizza back in December during Advent. It’s really not that tough for me anymore. The only real problem is deciding where to purchase my final pre-Lent pizza.
Now here’s the deal, this year I’m going to use the blog poll to help me make this crucial decision. The choices are– Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, Pa’s Pizzeria and Valeo’s Pizza. These are currently my three favorite Kenosha pizza parlors. The poll will be open until Sunday night at 7:00, so please make sure you vote.
It should be noted that in addition to my gastronomic restrictions during Lent, I will also increase my prayer quotient. Starting next Wednesday, I will read the daily Scriptures, say the Rosary along with a couple of chaplets. The plan is to do this each morning either before, or right after breakfast. Ideally, I should be doing this on a daily basis. Hopefully I will be able to continue this practice after Lent.
On a much lesser note, I am also giving up something else for Lent – playing games on Facebook. That’s right, no more Words With Friends, Bejeweled Blitz, Candy Crush Saga, Scrabble® or Song Pop until Easter. So don’t start any new games with me after next Monday!
Okay, Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is one reason why February 13 will be a noteworthy day for me. However, there is another event worthy of attention. Here’s the deal, at 7:00 pm, Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites premiers on CBS. Remarkably, the two-hour special celebrates the 26th season of the award-winning reality show. The Fans vs. Favorites format makes this season opener even more of a red-letter occasion.
Here are the lineups for the two 10 castaway teams:
The Fan tribe, Gota is made up of: Hope Driskill, Eddie Fox, Allie Pohevitz, Michael Snow, Julie Landauer, Matt Bischoff, Reynold Toepfer, Sherri Biethman, Laura Alexander and Shamar Thomas.
The Bikal tribe consists of these Favorites: Corinne Kaplan, Phil Sheppard, Francseca Hogi, Erick Reichenbach, Brenda Lowe, Dawn Meehan, Brandon Hantz, Andrea Boehlke, John Cochran and Mary Beth’s boyfr… oops, Malcolm Freberg.
Speaking of Malcolm’s boyfr… next Wednesday marks the return of the Official Survivor Recap Trilogy featuring my talented friends, Mary Beth and Jamie. This will be the fourth season that this sharp-witted duo joins me in writing the recap. This is just one more reason that February 13 is a day to look forward to.
To recap, first of all, help me choose where I should purchase my final pre-Lent pizza by casting your vote in the poll. Secondly, finish all your Facebook games with me by next Tuesday. Next, don’t forget to set your DVR or TiVo for CBS at 7:00 pm on February 13.
Finally, there is one other thing for you if you are still in need of something to do. After next Wednesday, there is only one short month until I get my rather sizable head shaved to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s fight against childhood cancer. Forty generous people have already stepped forward and sponsored me. If you can find it in your heart to help, click on this sentence to be linked to my donation page. Thanks.
Until next time…from the booth.
