Did we ever Meat?

Salami.

So it's Friday, during Lent.

Bacon.

And as a good Catholic boy, I don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent.

Kielbasa. Haggis. Bratwurst.

Of course, being a vegetarian, I don't eat meat on any Friday. Or any other day for that matter.

Ham. Italian Sausage. Bologna. Jerky (various).

I wasn't always a vegetarian. When I was a child I ate meat regularly. Mom prepared meat with every dinner -  except on Fridays.

Meat loaf. Hot dogs. Turkey. Pot Roast. Lamb chops.

I actually used to like some of them. (See "salami.") (Oh, and pepperoni.)

Pork chops. Hamburger. Meatballs. Veal. Chicken pot pie.

I used to hate steak, though. It was part of the Sunday ritual. Dad, who was a salesman and was often away from home the rest of the week, would grill steak on Sundays. It was important to him. It was personal. It was mandatory. Eat grilled steak. Maybe I would have liked it under other circumstances, but being forced to eat it, even when I said I didn't want any, left a bad taste (so to speak).

Roast beef. Chicken breasts. Beef stew. Sloppy Joes. Spam. (Oh, yeah, add that one to the parenthetical list, many times, with a dash of Monty Python.)

Anyway, that was then. Now there is no meat. So Fridays during Lent are like Mondays during Advent, or Wednesdays during Ordinary Time.

But can you write about meat on a Friday during Lent?

Something to chew on.

Pax et bonum