Feast Before Famine?
It's Mardi Gras, y'all!
I could have gone two ways with this week’s newsletter…musings on Ash Wednesday and the significance of Lent, or lighter thoughts on the pre-Lent celebrations.
Decided to do a little of both!
The wild and crazy celebrations before Lent begins include Carnival in Rio, the aforementioned Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and of COURSE the most famous of all: La Merengada, observed in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain, by hurling globs of meringue at one another. I would be game to participate in any of these, though an American version of La Merengada would be prohibitively pricey this year; with eggs averaging $700/dozen, revelers would need to take out a fifth mortgage to afford their gooey egg-white weapons.
I get the idea of feast-before-famine that animates these festivities, but honestly? I find that stuffing, then starving, just makes the “starving” more painful in contrast. I think we’d be better off slowly easing into the solemn time, you know, embarking on a Turkey Fast Thanksgiving Day, say, or wearing a smidge of forehead ash on Christmas Eve.
But that’s just me. The rest of the world loves its almost-Lent party time…
SONG: “GO TO THE MARDI GRAS” by Professor Longhair
(give his other music a listen too—fabulous New Orleans blues pianist and singer)
RECIPE: FASNACHT DOUGHNUTS
We used to observe Fasnacht (Shrove Tuesday) at our church with a talent-show-and-doughnuts event. It was always lots of fun, with all ages getting into the act. Alas, times have changed, and I doubt we’d be able to assemble a merry crowd in Parish Hall tonight. But I cherish the memory of our high schoolers telling jokes (not original material, but funny nonetheless)—example: “The bartender says, ‘we don’t serve time-travelers here.’ A time traveler walks into a bar.” Get it? There were also skits by the men’s group, and tunes by our small but mighty praise band. I’ll never forget Eleanor, one of my very favorite older ladies, tap dancing up a storm (guys, she was GOOD). Yes, I guess we did live in Lake Wobegon:-)
POEM: ASH WEDNESDAY by Brian Doyle
Lovely little Brian Doyle poem about holy laughter…
Here’s your Ash Wednesday story.
A mother carries her tiny daughter
With her as she gets ashed and the
Girl, curious and wriggly, squirms
Into the path of the priest’s thumb
Just as the finger is about to arrive
On the mother’s forehead, and the
Ashes go right in the kid’s left eye.
She starts to cry, and there’s a split
Second as the priest and the mother
Gawk, and then they both burst out
Laughing. The kid is too little to be
Offended, and the line moves along,
But this stays with me; not the ashy
Eye as much as the instant when all
Could have been pain and awkward
But instead it led to mutual giggling.
We are born of dust and star-scatter
And unto this we shall return, this is
The Law, but meantime, by God, we
Can laugh our asses off. What a gift,
You know? Let us snicker while we
Can, brothers and sisters. Let us use
That which makes dark things quail.
MOVIE TRAILER: CHOCOLAT
When a beautiful, mysterious chocolatier arrives in a small, strait-laced French town, she brings delicious magic …just in time for Lent! This one is a real gem, available to watch on streaming services…
ESSAY: REPENTANCE OPENS THE DOOR
My latest for Gather Magazine, I write about the freedom and relief that come from admitting we were wrong. As the season of Lent begins, here’s to the incredible lightness of being sorry…
ELISE’S READ-A-THON UPDATE: (GOAL: 15 BOOKS IN 30 DAYS)
Whew! Can I keep up the pace?
BOOKS READ IN WEEK ONE (WITH MY STARRED REVIEWS)
UNFORGETTABLE by Scott Simon **** Built on the tweets beloved journalist Simon wrote at his mom’s bedside during the last week of her life, filled with affection and really great stories.
HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano****Set in Chicago, four sisters navigate the ups and downs of their lives in this terrific novel (inspired by Little Women.)
MORE OR LESS MADDY by Lisa Genova**** A young woman pays her dues as a standup comedian while battling her mental illness. Hard for me to read, because it was such a painfully accurate reminder of my own bipolar mania, but very well done.
WILLFUL CREATURES by Aimee Bender* Lest you think I’m completely undiscriminating with my **** reviews all over the place, well, this incredibly odd collection of stories was a * for me. I would call it “David Sedaris without the humor”—Sedaris can be equally quirky and outrageous, but always makes me laugh. Not so this book, alas.
LINEUP FOR WEEK TWO:
IONA IVERSON’S RULES FOR COMMUTING by Clare Pooley
THE RESTAURANT OF LOST RECIPES by Hisashi Kashiwai
THIS DAY (NEW AND COLLECTED SABBATH POEMS) by Wendell Berry
NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE by Michael J. Fox
BLOG PREVIEW: BABY MAGIC
We are so blessed to have another baby in the house these days. I share the joy of Dimitri (and all the little ones who inspire us to make this a better world for them).
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Love this quote from the pioneering performance artist Laurie Anderson. However we spend this special week, friends, let’s remember that we are each conduits of beauty!