2 weeks Ago By Tony Glaros
The swarm of festive beads tossed merrily at Mardi Gras now dangle from rear-view mirrors. Others lie on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. And the stacks of pancakes forked on that same Tuesday have entered and exited the digestive system.
Tony GlarosLongmont LessonsYes, whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re two weeks into the season of Lent. For the more serious among us, it boils down to making hard choices. You can go the traditional route and wave off red meat and dairy.
And eggs could use divine intervention right now, given their scarcity and skyrocketing price. There are, of course, people who have given up trying to decide what to give up during the weeks leading up to the April 20th celebration of Easter, Christianity’s most solemn occasion.Along with sending meat and poultry packing, we decided to hit the pause button on something that can clog your mental arteries.
We have made a conscious decision not to engage in political discussions. However, we are also realists. We’re still allowed to keep up with the daily domestic, national and international train wrecks.
The trick is that we are not to rehash them in person. Period.“If we’re going to do this and be serious about our actions,” my wife says, “we have to set guardrails.
” No political discussion, we agree, is allowed at mealtime. But that doesn’t mean we won’t drift out-of-bounds now and then. We won’t throw the penalty flag when it happens.
“I’m listening,” I assured her, eyeing that sleeve of Oreos in the pantry I know I want but. The spirit is always willing, but the flesh is..
. well, the flesh. We both love reading about drama.
Our addiction to political theater is in constant need of a fix. So there’s nothing wrong staying updated on stuff like who Trump will throw out of the White House next. Or how long Marco Rubio will suffer the humiliation of being Secretary of State? Remember when Trump called him “little” Marco during his first run for office?”“Ha ha!” she exclaims.
“When you come right down to it, if Kamala Harris becomes the next governor of California, how will that affect us in Colorado? What happens in the Golden State stays in the Golden State.” (Fat chance.)She has my rapt attention.
So much so, I erased any innate desire to lunge at the evil package of Oreos. “You’re on a roll. Don’t let me stand in your way.
”“We both know that will never happen,” she adds, sighing, tossing the Oreos into the garbage. “Given how the world is drenched in media choices, imposing a blanket blackout on media isn’t the answer.”I asked if that meant indulging in the daily dumpster fires without bringing the gory details to the dinner table.
“Or any table, for that matter” she corrected with feeling. “No coffee table, no dining table, no end table, no Table Mesa, a geological classification which also describes a well-known shopping center.”I draw a deep breath as she continues checking the boxes.
I applaud her when she reassures me that it’s human to sometimes sink into the pit of despair. We agreed there will be days when one of us is at a different level. When we stood at the altar and exchanged vows, becoming “one in spirit,” we weren’t Siamese twins — although who knows what the future holds?I don’t have to search far and wide to find a few close friends who are available at any hour to express their thoughts on anything and everything.
King Solomon was right when he said there’s nothing new under the sun, without going into detail on what it felt like being married to 700 women and 300 concubines. Imagine all the dowries he scooped up! Plus, was the Temple in Jerusalem big enough to host that many receptions at one time?Bob Riley brings a fresh perspective to Lent and its holy flowing waters. He’s my go-to guy for taking deeper dives.
Riley, who drives for Uber and Lyft, penned a book a few years ago in which he curated some of the standout moments from the now 28,000 rides he’s given.Let’s just say he’s been called every name in the book and leave it at that. I didn’t know whip-smart grannies curled up in the back seat of his little blue Honda cuss like drunken sailors in a port of call.
He’s also the eternal optimist. “I’ve given up my lack of patience with people,” he asserts between rides. “I’ve given up my rush to judgment with people and situations.
” As a committed Chrisitan, Bob knows how to put the brakes on in his metallic blue Honda — and when forming snap opinions. “It can be replaced with more grace, more compassion, and more mercy.”Joe Faissal drives home the same theme.
“It is healthy for you to fast,” urges the durable, effervescent Faissal, a fixture at St. Luke’s Orthodox Church in Erie. “But you have to forgive yourself before you’re forgiven.
That’s most important. This is the essence of Christianity.” Moreover, in an unblemished world, he emphasizes it would naturally be applied to all people.
Growing up in his native Lebanon, Faissal’s web of friendships extended to Muslim youth. As an adult, Faissal donated a parcel of land he owned to the Muslim community. “I did it because they were people I love.
It was the right thing to do. And they built a Mosque on it.”Meanwhile, back to our little, unenforceable pact.
So far, so good. During the day, we scurry to our own rooms and download things to our heart’s content. She doesn’t know that while I despise Trump’s personality, often on the brink of breaking the screen and slapping him silly, silly, there are moments, I confess, when I do find myself agreeing with him.
He claims the government is too bloated. Is it? Is it true that Aurora is the home of CU Anschutz Medical Campus and a haven for bad hombres from Venezuela? Also provocative: is Melania really the bimbo some folks claim she is? I heard the former Slovenian model is fluent in several languages.Now 35 days before Easter, I’m already looking ahead to Lent ’26 and what I might abstain from.
I will no longer go to the dark side about Trump. And while Elon Musk continues to pollute social media with ridiculous claims, at least he helped roll out an all-electric car that didn’t spew clouds of smoke. And where was I when a 12-year-old Elon was creating a video game, Blastar, later selling it for $500?Waiting a week for Kathryn Rice’s penetrating wisdom was well worth the wait.
Lent, she affirms, “is a set-apart season which facilitates a deep connection with God. Its purpose, like all of life, is to draw closer to the wonderful Being who is God, to commune with Him and to know Him better, not intellectually, but in the place where He is able to dwell in our hearts.” The Mead resident, a home-health care professional, contends fasting’s role is to deny “whatever it is that gives me the most dopamine hits,” like certain foods and social media.
Abstinence from worldly desires results “in a strange emptiness, a void which humbles me, shining a light which reveals what my weaknesses are. It is an OP opportunity to go lower, to bow the knee, figuratively and literally, and to repent deeply. It’s a solemn time of identifying with Jesus Christ in his journey in the wilderness.
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