Easter 2021

 Pandemic Remembers

 

In 1951, Holy Week and Easter Sunday rewarded my Lenten sacrifices.  After sweating out venial sins in the hot box of the confessional, I was prepared for bits of joy that seemed enormous -----new clothes (do you remember the pride of looking good in whatever your small town called an Easter Parade?); the seasonal Latin hymns at church and spiffy songs on the radio; great food (love went into the making of the ham, the potato salad with homemade mayonnaise, the ice cream in flavors no store ever had, the special cookies and cakes from well-guarded recipes).  My cousins taught me the art of spit-polishing my shoes and how to use heel-dressing properly.  Gone are those days when the poorest of us kept up appearances. All I see now are thousands of people who look like battered, discarded toys and think trash is a matter of good taste.  In 2021, Holy Week and Easter Sunday only provide reason to weep for all my relatives and friends who are dead or dying.

 

Jerry W. Ward, Jr.                            4/2/2021 10:35:35 AM


 


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