Cup 63: at the Friar's

at the friar's
Originally uploaded by matt_leclair.

Where: The Friar's Bakehouse, Bangor Maine
When: 12:30 pm, Feb 5 2005
Who: Jessie
Coffee: Unknown
Mood: wonderful

There are galleries in Bangor. I knew this, but never paid much attention. One gets so used to there being nothing to do when you live in a town like this that when there is something, you tend not to notice it. UMMA, the University of Maine Museum of Art is there. Odd that it isn't on campus and I'm sure there's weird politics to explain why it isn't. There's also the Bangor Historical Society's museum. Jessie wanted to go, and that seemed like a nice Saturday thing to do, so we went. I don't know if it was just being in the proximity that triggered a Pavlovian reaction or what, but when we parked near the Friar's I was suddenly SO hungry! I really hadn't planned on going to the Friars, but who'm I kidding. We go there every saturday, and the grilled cheese is just, heh, heavenly!

I love the friars. There's something about people of faith that I... envy seems the wrong word... respect seems trite, but neither is innacurate. I have a whole lot of contempt for "religious" people who pervert whatever faith they belong to to justify their own hatreds and prejudices and views. But people like the Friars, who are willing to devote their lives completely to their faith, who honestly practice what they preach and instruct by example, not accusation or condmenation. There's a sense of peace in the bakehouse that I don't think is just my imagination.

It was the Book of Job that finally did it to me, made me turn my back on God and the church once and for all. I was raised Roman Catholic and was actually quite religious back in the day. There were lots of little things throughout the year that didn't sit right with me, but Job finally clinched it for me. Okay, God and Satan are just hanging out, talking, and God decides to prove to Satan what a faithful man Job is. So God destroys Job's life, murdering his entire family, destroying his home and property, giving Job festering boils and heaps all sorts of other tortures upon Job. God does all this. Just so he can win a bet with Satan. And I thought, God exists or He doesn't. If He does, He is unworthy of worship because any god who'd be willing to do all that to someone who loves Him just to win a bet with Satan is such a total jerk the He only deserves Ridicule and Scorn.

And still, I have nothing but respect for the friars. They've thought this through and still found something loveable and worship-worthy about their God. And somehow this leads them to make great grilled cheese sandwiches. And the circle of life continues.

Oh, and the museums were pretty cool, too.