I wanna bangerbur*!

It's Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter Sunday. I think they called this Holy Saturday, who knows? What I remember most about it was that the Lenten fast used to end at noon on this day. My dad would have a good sandwich for lunch, with probably a glass of beer and a cigarette, too. He used to give up smoking and drinking for Lent every year, but at noon today, it was back to his normal diet. I just remember feeling THRILLED about it, even though nothing much culinary changed for me. I was just glad for my dad. Mom was, too. He suffered the most from fasting, though I think he could have done ok without the food. It was the highball before dinner and the cigarettes that he missed.

He wasn't a big drinker...he saved his quarters in a little metal bank that looked like a book, and when he had enough, he'd buy another bottle of Jim Beam. He paid for his Pall Malls the same way.

There's been no fasting in Casa Maria Elena for many years, and I quit smoking in 1979. So this is simply remembrance of things past. One thing that used to amuse me about Canon Law was the fact that you could get around just about any church rule with it. For example, if you were fasting, you could still drink as much as you wanted--tea, coffee, water, and yes, beer and booze, too. And if you were drinking an alcoholic beverage, you could have a snack so that you didn't get drunk. And Bob's your uncle....(in my children's case, true!)

But it just occurred to me that i really, really WOULD like a hamburger right now. I don't fast for spirichal reasons, but I'm laying off meat cuz it's a) so expensive and b) i can't afford it. Hmmmm.... Maybe a nice turkey burger?????

*This is what our small neighbor Jeffy Berger used to call this delicacy.