Good Friday? How about GREAT Friday!

I remember growing up--during the grades one through four that I was in Catholic school -- that Good Friday always loomed dark and rainy. Sure enough, the forecast this week was sunny sunny sunny -- storms on Friday -- sunny sunny sunny. If you're a spiritual person, you just might think God is being literal--or you may think it's just a metereological coincidence.

If you were raised on three masses a week as I was during my formative years, the dark, gloomy weather also reminds you that someone died for your sins--YOUR sins!--and by gum, if you don't respect that, then you will rot in hell for years instead of eating mass quantities of donuts in heaven. You will also rot in hell if you 1) have had any kind of sex not done within a marriage AND the period of ovulation, 2) use birth control (excuse me...does the Pope know what it's like to raise seven kids?), 3) are gay.

It took me several years of public school (during which I FINALLY learned what the term "hooker" meant) and my mom repeatedly going, "Don't let them make you feel guilty!" to shake the fact that yes Jesus did die for our sins (that has been ingrained hardcore and forever), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't live like a nun, for Pete's sake. Does Jesus really give a crap that you don't want to have 12 kids (the average amount women would bear without birth control) and that you say the "F" word ocassionally, like to party at Rage, and maybe you hooch it up every now and again? Of course not! His best gal pal was Mary Magdalene, remember?

The guilt really falls, if you will, with our offical calendar. Good Friday isn't a national holiday, but it should be. Plus, this year it falls over Passover, which is one of the most--if not the most--important Jewish holidays.

And Easter is supposed to be the most important holiday for Christians, too. Even more than Christmas--anyone can be BORN, but who rises from the dead??? It's a bit more impressive an event than a birth (virgin as it may be). Seems weird we're not given the day off when so many folks have to end up taking today off anyways.

But, no traffic. So that's good. God does work in quite handy ways, I guess...