When I turned on my radio this morning the news announcer was relating a story about Fat Tuesday and sharing information on the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I have always wanted to travel to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras.
When I was a teenager, Interstate Highway 29 was under construction just west of Fargo. Huge earth-moving machines had lumbered into the Red River Valley and inch-by-inch, foot-by-foot had chewed up and spit out miles and miles of fertile crop land to create ribbons of concrete that would connect Kansas City, Missouri to the Canadian Border near Pembina.
“Why,” I mused, “would anyone want to build a four lane highway to Pembina? I mean, it wasn’t the end of the world, but you could sure see it from there!”
As always, my older and wiser brother Richard was the one to explain the purpose of the Interstate Highway System to me.
Still, I queried, “Why is this road being built going from nowhere to nowhere?” Probably figuring if he was ever going to get through to me he would have to make a connection that I would be able to understand.
He did.
In our family it was very important to bring the meaning of Lent into our everyday lives. Each and every year the nuns at the school would guide us through the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. Each year the nuns would tell us that when Jesus was in the desert He fasted and prayed. He was tempted by the devil and each time resisted the temptation. Each year the nuns would tell us that Jesus spent the 40 days in the desert to prepare Himself for the trials and tribulations He would face during Holy Week. Each year the nuns would tell us that the Catholic Church set aside a special time period for us to follow in His footsteps; for us to fast, pray and avoid temptation so we could come to a deeper understanding of the magnitude of His sacrifice for us. In our classes each of us, guided by the nuns, would identify something we really enjoyed – candy, watching a special T.V. show, going to the movies – and we would vow to abstain from that during Lent. In preparation for our sacrificing, we would have a special celebration in school on the Tuesday before Lent. We would have a Mardi Gras celebration. I came to love the activities of Fat Tuesday.
I totally understood the celebration of Mardi Gras and was aware that the City of New Orleans was the center of the greatest Mardi Gras celebration in America. I had often told my family that one day when I got big I was going to go to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. My father would look across the table from me and say, “It’s a long way and the roads aren’t very good.” My father traveled every week, Monday through Friday. He knew about roads. I had no reason to doubt him. Eventually I gave up my dream of going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
O.K. so you’re asking yourself now, “What does Lent and my understanding of the construction of Interstate 29 have to do with Mardi Gras?”
It’s simple. My brother Richard said, “When we get old enough you and I will drive down I-29 all the way to New Orleans so you can go to Mardi Gras.”
I finally understood the need for an interstate highway going from nowhere to nowhere.
Ah ya! I found out my brother lied, I-29 does not go all the way to New Orleans.
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When I turned on my radio this morning the news announcer was relating a story about Fat Tuesday and sharing information on the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I have always wanted to travel to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras.
When I was a teenager, Interstate Highway 29 was under construction just west of Fargo. Huge earth-moving machines had lumbered into the Red River Valley and inch-by-inch, foot-by-foot had chewed up and spit out miles and miles of fertile crop land to create ribbons of concrete that would connect Kansas City, Missouri to the Canadian Border near Pembina.
“Why,” I mused, “would anyone want to build a four lane highway to Pembina? I mean, it wasn’t the end of the world, but you could sure see it from there!”
As always, my older and wiser brother Richard was the one to explain the purpose of the Interstate Highway System to me.
Still, I queried, “Why is this road being built going from nowhere to nowhere?” Probably figuring if he was ever going to get through to me he would have to make a connection that I would be able to understand.
He did.
In our family it was very important to bring the meaning of Lent into our everyday lives. Each and every year the nuns at the school would guide us through the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. Each year the nuns would tell us that when Jesus was in the desert He fasted and prayed. He was tempted by the devil and each time resisted the temptation. Each year the nuns would tell us that Jesus spent the 40 days in the desert to prepare Himself for the trials and tribulations He would face during Holy Week. Each year the nuns would tell us that the Catholic Church set aside a special time period for us to follow in His footsteps; for us to fast, pray and avoid temptation so we could come to a deeper understanding of the magnitude of His sacrifice for us. In our classes each of us, guided by the nuns, would identify something we really enjoyed – candy, watching a special T.V. show, going to the movies – and we would vow to abstain from that during Lent. In preparation for our sacrificing, we would have a special celebration in school on the Tuesday before Lent. We would have a Mardi Gras celebration. I came to love the activities of Fat Tuesday.
I totally understood the celebration of Mardi Gras and was aware that the City of New Orleans was the center of the greatest Mardi Gras celebration in America. I had often told my family that one day when I got big I was going to go to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. My father would look across the table from me and say, “It’s a long way and the roads aren’t very good.” My father traveled every week, Monday through Friday. He knew about roads. I had no reason to doubt him. Eventually I gave up my dream of going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
O.K. so you’re asking yourself now, “What does Lent and my understanding of the construction of Interstate 29 have to do with Mardi Gras?”
It’s simple. My brother Richard said, “When we get old enough you and I will drive down I-29 all the way to New Orleans so you can go to Mardi Gras.”
I finally understood the need for an interstate highway going from nowhere to nowhere.
Ah ya! I found out my brother lied, I-29 does not go all the way to New Orleans.
