Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Thank God For Meat

Please, don't let us choke...

I do not come from a very religious family. Although my mom's parents were very Christian, my mom didn't pass it down to me, or my sister.

Suz, on the other hand, comes from a very religious family. What is very religious? Missionary work in 3rd world countries? Converting heathens Bible Blaster-style? (Simpsons Season 11, Episode BABF10) Not exactly. They pray. A LOT. No, you don't understand. I don't mean they pray before every meal and read from the Bible after dinner, because those things are completely normal. What I mean is: a prayer before a birthday dinner at, say, a crowded East Side Mario's, or just lunch at McDonalds. Yes, before every greasy Big Mac we bow our heads and say thanks for the... uh... meat.

This was hard to get used to even though Suz warned me that, because of my background, I might find these things kind of odd. I believe she said something like, "now, don't be scared." But why does it seem odd to pray in a fast-food restaurant? If you give thanks before every home-cooked meal, why wouldn't you do it in a restaurant? Embarrassment? Not 100% devoted to God? I don't know the answer, but the more I think about it, the more odd it seems that I don't see families praying in Taco Bell.

I am open-minded and I've accepted this change in my life. Yet, every time I hear God's name, I can't help but think of Bart Simpson's immortal words, "God Shmod. I want my monkey-man!" and wonder how the McCorporation could best put this new meat to use.

7 Comments:

Blogger Rainypete said...

I pray every time I eat Taco Bell. Primarily those prayers revolve around the functionality of toilets in my vicinity.

Maybe people don't pray much in McDonalds because that food was borne of polymer science and not God's animals.

12:46:00 PM

 
Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

raised religious, prayed more often than not, including in every public eating establishment we went to. today, i don't pray, and sorta shake my head at those that do, i've moved on....
umm, i'm not familiar with the simpson episode, so can't really comment on that, i do think that the term "meat" at mcdonalds may take on a whole new meaning and i'm not sure it is something to be thankful for!

12:48:00 PM

 
Blogger Jenny said...

I pray before every meal, but I don't make a big to-do about it. My parents, however, do. We not only bow our heads and one person says the prayer rather loudly, but we hold hands too.

"It's a family tradition, gol-darn-it, and we aren't changing what we do as a family JUST because we're in public," they say.

OK, fine. I was raised VERY religious. I walked away in my 20's, after I thought I knew everything in college and afterward. And now I'm back and in a better place than ever in my life.

God-schmod is no longer in my vocabulary, and I wish I could take back the times I thought that... but instead we move on.

Have a great week.

4:57:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

These different lifestyles intrigue me. I wasn't expecting any back-and-forth or middle of the road stuff. I thought it would be pretty cut and dry. God, or No God. Prayer, or No Prayer.

Thanks everybody.

5:07:00 PM

 
Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

amazed or not amazed
to be or not to be
yes then no
we used to hold hands and pray too, i am so out of there-

9:16:00 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why would you pray to God if you paid for the food with your own money, which was earned through working an honest day?

*shakes head*

I don't think I get it.

I'm going anonymous because I fear the wrath of God.

10:20:00 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So that was a camera flash on I saw when we were giving thanks. And you let me believe it was a glimpse of heaven... shame on you martini..

10:30:00 AM

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

 

This many people accidentally stumbled upon my site
...while searching for porn.