Daily Bread

"No bagel for me this morning, Michelle," I said as I entered the coffee shop in Hamilton yesterday morning. The crew of another train were seated around a small table near the entrance and they all stopped to stare at me. I've had bacon and egg on a bagel every morning for months now and the lads were puzzled at my sudden change of breakfast fare.

"What? No bagel? What's up with that, Dale? Are you sick? On a diet? What?"

I smiled but said nothing. Let them wonder, I thought. But my decision not to have a bagel that morning was beginning to cause a real stir among my work mates. Not only were the men of that train crew suddenly interested in my choice of breakfast, but my own crew had found their way to the little restaurant and they, too, offered questions and queries and opinions.

"Maybe his cholesterol is too high."

"He's prob'ly met some young chick and he's tryin' to lose weight."

One generous fellow offered me money.

"Shuddup you guys! He's prob'ly got no money. Here, Doc. Here's five bucks. Get yerself some breakfast."

I waved off his fiver, bought some coffee and sat alone at a table in the corner.

"Anybody know what day it is today?" I asked. "I know it's Wednesday. But it's a special day as well."

The responses were typical of the ignorant cretins with whom I work.

"First day of spring?"

"Pay day?"

"Mother's Day. When's Mother's Day? It's around now, isn't it?"

"Mother's Day is on a Sunday, knucklehead. It's not Mother's Day."

"Oh my God! It's yer birthday, isn't it?"

They were all talking at once and getting louder by the minute. Someone bid them be quiet with an insistent "SSSSHHHHHHHH!!!" A woman at the counter turned with her coffee and said, "Ash Wednesday. It's Ash Wednesday."

The men were quiet now. They looked at each other blankly and then back to the woman.

"The first day of Lent," she said and calmly exited.

John spoke first.

"It's Lent you idiots. Today's the first day."

"What the hell's 'Lent' then smartypants?"

John shrugged his big shoulders and grinned sheepishly.

"Shit, I dunno. What do I look like? Dictionary Dan?"

"Lent," I explained, "is the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It lasts forty days and I don't think it includes Sundays."

Bill spoke up then for the first time.

"What if Mother's Day falls during Lent? Would it still be Mother's Day?"

(Do you see what I have to work with, Ms J?)

I continued.

"Lent is the Christian season that precedes Easter. Traditionally, it's a time of fasting. People vow to give up something they like during Lent as a kind of penance for their sins. I've decided to give up bread for Lent."

Heads were bobbing now. A light was beginning to flicker. Bill said, "And bagels are the same as bread, right?"

Someone proposed that bagels were not really bread because they're round with a hole in the middle "which makes them more like a doughnut." An argument ensued as I took my coffee and went out to visit with Kathy, the ticket seller.

I had no bread yesterday, Ms J. And I had no bread today. I love bread. I eat way too much of it. If I give up bread for forty days, not only will I be observing Lent in a meaningful way, I may even lose a few pounds. That way, I'll be ready to pig out on Easter chocolate.

Oh. By the way, Ms Journal ... Do you suppose muffins are considered "bread"?

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