A beautiful, sun-splashed day at Memorial Stadium.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this Lent has proven time and again the old adage that "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach." But I might amend this statement further to read . . . "if no food is available to placate said man's hunger, then football would be a good second option." Today we went to the University of Nebraska "Spring Game" in Lincoln. What could be better than football in April? Well, lunch in April, I suppose.
To dove-tail on yesterday's post, I am finding that the closer I am getting to Easter the more difficult this fasting becomes. Forgive me for whining, but even with football to watch, food was about the only thing I could think about all day. I woke up early to eat something before sunrise and it turned out to not be nearly enough.
So far this Lent I had managed to avoid going out to eat with the family (the lone exception being the second day when we stopped for lunch on the way to Colorado), mostly this is because I don't expect everyone to wait for me until they eat. Well, today it happened not once, but twice. We met Brandi's aunt and uncle (with whom we went to the game) and mother for breakfast before we headed to Lincoln. You may recall that the one time we did go out it was a bit awkward for me when I had to tell the waitress I didn't want anything to drink or eat. This time I asked for an ice water (which remained untouched) and I told the server I would just share someone else's food. This was a bit of an untruth, I realize, but it is far better than having to explain Lenten Ramadan in a busy restaurant on a Saturday morning. In the end, breakfast was no big deal. I had eaten about three hours earlier and was still somewhat satisfied.
The problems began when we arrived in Lincoln. We had to park about a half mile away in a parking garage. To get to the stadium we had to walk through downtown, passing countless restaurants and tailgaters along the way. En route, my olfactory nerves experienced a full-frontal assault from the likes of bratwursts, hamburgers, french fries, barbecue, soup, fried chicken, coffee and several other odors the likes of which could not be determined but which registered in my brain as "absolutely delicious." Then we sat down. Soon a second sortie was conducted by vendors of pizza, popcorn and "Runzas," a local delicacy which could best be described as bread stuffed with hamburger and other goodies. And this went on and on. For. Three. Hours.
After the game we of course had to run the gauntlet back to the car which included, once again, all of the wafting scents mentioned above (only in reverse order) plus the wonderful smell of fresh pastries from Panera Bread into which we had to take a detour in order for Nicholas to use the bathroom. And I'm still not finished.
Upon arriving back in Omaha we went to dinner at the Upstream with Brandi's aunt and uncle. This happens to be one of my favorite places in town. Not only do they have a deliciously creative twist on classic pub fare, but they also brew their own beer! This was absolute torture! Again, I ordered an ice water and pulled the same trick as in the morning.
I am so hungry that right now I would eat this computer if I weren't afraid the silicon in the processor would somehow give me stomach cancer. As soon as I post this I am heading out the door and going for a walk to another favorite establishment, The Dundee Dell. I'm going by myself and I am going to have a hot meal for the first time all week. And I will savor it. And I will thank God for it. And I will wash it down with an ice cold beer. By the time you read this, I most certainly will have said, "Ahhhhh-men."
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