Pesach/Good Friday

You can hear a pin drop in my place of work today because it would appear that most folks have decided to take Passover(aka Pesach)/Good Friday off.  I was laughing with my friend Ayana the other day about how I continue to be surprised by how religiously observant the (heathen) City of New York is, people skipping work and kids missing school. The only religious holiday as a kid I even got close to missing was Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes) and that was a rarity.  Here in NYC kids being absent for Three Kings is no biggie and there is a parade and other festivities.  Every other Xtian Puerto Rican kid through out the continental US is playing hookie, including my 20 mini cousins in Buffalo, NY who spend the day being ploughed with candy and toys while they lazily lay around or play with one another. 

Delicious Matzoh Ball Soup prepared by the hostess.

About seven shots into a Manischewitz off.

I am going to a Passover Seder this evening with two trusted spirit questing friends whose time hanging out together as of late has been mostly spent exploring our more mystical, spiritual, cultural sides.  It is only my second Seder and my first in nearly ten years.  The first one I ever attended was in jail having been arrested for participating in the IMF/WTO A17 protests in DC.  Part instinctual , part crazy, part curious (despite having already been arrested for protesting) I had decided to cross the (police) line therefore spending the next five days in jail with about 300 hundred of my closest friends.  Our cohort occupied an entire wing of the jail and the chiller of the group spent most the time napping, playing games, and watching The Simpson's. When it was announced at our daily meeting that there was to be a Seder one evening to celebrate Passover I was in, since I am way into rituals and learning new things. I sat quietly on the floor of a jail house indoor basketball court watching the ritual involved in Seder go down, secretly impressed with the dedication of my fellow jail mates in making it happen. As of late I have been focusing on studying monotheistic religions, specifically at this point and time Judaism, and hit up the Passover knowledge hard in preparation for this week. I have never been the typical punk in regards to subscribing to atheism or wanting to murder Jesus/God.  While being able to recognize the oppressive and brutal forces religious order has brought on humanity, I am also able to appreciate the internal peace it can bring to one's life-not in a restrictive way but with occasional reminders to stop for a second and reflect on varying aspects of your life and to work on altering them for the better (when I say religion I mean any spiritual practice really that one adheres to, from Islam to moon cycles).

Just making sure Leah is not skimping.

This year, I am really into Passover for its theme of celebrating the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (ending their enslavement) and extending that concept to your life in this moment and time.  Release yourself from whatever enslaves you be it physical, mental or spiritual. Happy Pesach or whatever you are up to tonight.

*Life Side Note: The dinner was great and what started off as a religiously thoughtful evening ended in me being a lil tipsy.  The hostess challenged me to drink basically an entire bottle of grape flavored Manishewitz with her via shots, which I pulled off without a hitch.