It's Ash Wednesday...

...And guess who brought a turkey sandwich for lunch?

Not a good start.

Fun fact about Ash Wednesday: The ashes that they put on your forehead making you look like the victim of a mob hit are created by burning the palm frondes from the previous Palm Sunday.

Last time I participated in the Ash Wednesday festivities was two years ago at Holy Name Cathedral. I went during my lunch with a friend. We just felt like going, I guess. It was the year my brother joined the Army. As fallen away from my faith as I am, there's still a part of me that craves a relationship with God I suppose. I went to Church a few times that year.

Anyway, this was also the year that the big "Priests molesting little boys" scandal broke. So, there I was, at church, in line to be blessed with the ashes and there's a news camera in my face. Now, it's nothing new for the news to be covering Holy Name services, as they're pretty big deals-what with Holy Name being the Catholic hub of the city. But I KNEW that this particular year, that coverage would go something like this:

"Today is Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the holiest of seasons for Catholics. And in spite of recent scandals involving Catholic clergy, Chicago's faithful are still turning out in impressive numbers to observe the holy day."

I was angry. I was just trying to feel a little closer to God that day. Worship is a private thing. I didn't need a news camera in my face distracting me from prayer. I don't have much to say about this ... except that it just kind of sucked.

Anyway... I promise to not go all religious on y'all. But it seems as I get older, I seem to pay more attention to this time of year.

Whatever. I'm hung-over. Damn you Mardi Gras! Damn you to hell!!

Now, everyone, Bow your heads and pretend to be serious...