the stairs less traveled

yesterday morning, after morning prayers, kevin, steve and i decided, instead of heading out to do some hiking, to head down to mt. adams and the holy cross immaculata church to participate in the annual good friday tradition of climbing the steep stairs to the parish. not quite the communion with nature i was hoping for, but i had always wanted to participate in this ritual so i was up for it.

steve came prepared with several rosary and a pamphlet of how to say the rosary, which came in quite handy for us non-catholics. we exited on martin avenue and found stairs leading up toward the top of mt. adams. we opted for the 356 step route - no pansy climb for us. we were surprised to be the only ones there, but figured most other pilgrims had chosen the shorter climb. neophytes to the whole experience, we were unsure of what exactly to do. we rotated between repeating out loud hail marys and glory bes with a sprinkling of our fathers every now and then as we climbed one step at a time. as others joined us on the stairs, i began to worry we weren't doing it right, that our pseudo-catholicism would be evident to real catholics. but those fears soon faded away as i got into the spirit of our journey.

and then we reached the top of the stairs. and there was not a church in sight. we walked down the street, thinking the stairs must pick up somewhere down the road a bit. but as we closed on the next intersection, it became obvious that we had not in fact been climbing the parish steps, but some random set of stairs set in the side of the hill. realizing our mistake, and fearing the wrath of the poor pilgirms who had followed in our mistaken footsteps, we ducked around a corner and ran into a resident who walked us up to the church. from there we could see where we were meant to walk up, stairs filled with penitent pilgrims drawing step by step closer to the church. would have been quite the throng to be a part of had we actually started in the right place.

of course, none of this stopped us from participating in the donuts and coffee at the top (well, not steve and kevin anyway - i was still fasting). we sat and talked about the experience and had a laugh over our miscalculations - and hoped those who had joined behind us weren't upset enough to come and find us in the parish hall. we discussed a bit the metaphorical significance of our journey, how the good catholics climbed one set of stairs while we confused protestants climbed another and yet we both arrived at the same destination. not sure it holds up under scrutiny, but something interesting to think about.

getting ready to head over to st. e's to walk through via crucis once more before heading out to dinner...somewhere. still haven't made up my mind yet what i want. last day i'll have to wait. been good discipline but am looking forward to being able to eat when i'm hungry again. not sure about the other lenten sacrifices i made; i know i'll eat chocolate again, but not sure about the fries or the carbonated beverages. i'm sure it's healthier not eating them, but not sure i care enough to continue to give them up. but glad to know i can go without them if necessary. i just hope it's never necessary.

pomegranates cd release show is tonight at the gypsy hut. says 10:00 on the website, but not sure if that's when the doors open or if it's when the show will start. should have time to figure all that out before i head out. still need to do a little cleaning before the 'rents arrive tomorrow, but nothing too stressful.

got my tax return info back today. looks like i should be able to pay off a couple of credit cards and still have some left over. will have to see how best to spend it. a new bed frame maybe? we'll see.

happy holy saturday. sunday's comin'...
Æ

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