Today is Ash Wednesday.
Working in the Loop all those years you could see who the Catholics were. They were walking around with ashes proudly on their forehead.
It was also the day many used to flaunt their religion and not understand the relationship with their faith on the first day of Lent.
I worked in a trading pit with a guy who was a miserable person 365 days a year. He treated people poorly.
Catholic guy… Catholic guy who never hesitated to call a Jewish guy a kike or a heeb.
Catholic guy… Catholic guy who’s wife called him on one of the red phones next to the pit (before cell phones). They had a conversation that went south… so this guy let his wife know she was a c**t numerous times.
Everyone standing around looked stunned! The phone conversation stopped trading because of the vulgarity. He hung up the phone, shrugged his shoulders and under his breath called her a c**t one more time.
Catholic guy…. Catholic guy who got into an argument with a guy in the pit. This guy was going through a divorce. His wife was cheating on him. The Catholic guy told the divorcee…. “Go f**k yourself! Just like your wife! She f**ks everyone!”
This is the same guy that walked on the floor at 7:00am every Ash Wednesday with the darkest cross on his forehead.
We joked every year that he tipped Father when he got his ashes.
I pray for those who still practice the Lenten season. I hope your relationship with God grows stronger. I hope your relationship with yourself becomes more clear.
Mardi Gras is over… I was home by 6:45…. I was in bed at 8:30…. I was selling beans at 9:30… I was back asleep by 9:45…. Laissez le bon temps roullier!
