Friday, March 6, 2009

what to give up for lent on a friday in march

There's a great scene in Doubt where Sister Alyosious has invited Father Flynn to her office to talk about a 'situation'. Tea is served and the Father asks for sugar, which takes the stern, uncompromising Head Mistress a few minutes to find because the the sugar bowl is hidden in the back of her desk. To the sister's surprise the Father takes 3 lumps of sugar and when he asks the Sister if she'd like some, she remarks, "no, I gave it up last year for Lent."

To which the Father replies, "well, it mustn't have been much of a sacrifice."

What are you giving up for Lent and OK, if you're not of that persuasion, for the economic stimulus plan?

I suggested giving up insanity, at least until Easter or the economy turns, but my friend was against it. Instead, she recommended something considerably more pedestrian yet sacrificial, like reading. Seems a bit severe, if not entirely problematic. Movies? I might give up movies. I've watched more movies in the last 3 months than books I've read. A sure sign that something might be amiss in the universe. Recently I've been catching up on some interesting television dramas that are now on cd, "Mad Men" and "The Wire". Proof that if you build good dialogue around chain-smoking or heroin addiction, you've got yourself a winner.

Maybe I'll give up Brussels sprouts. I just recently learned to love them, so maybe I could live without.

No comments: