This weekend was marked for me by excellent food combined with excellent company. I'm not sure if I've written on how I feel about eating together before or not (may have mentioned it once), but to eat with a friend is really important to me. It is one of the most basic things we can do, and (my college chaplain would be proud to hear me say this) breaking bread with friends calls to mind for me the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus sat down with his buddies and ate dinner. Now, as Gorman might say, much ink has been spilled on the broader theological significance of that act, and rightly so. It's extremely important. Yet, there is something fundamental about it, something so beautifully simple, that has always compelled me. And so, when I eat with friends, it means more to me than most know.

Friday night I dined in Lincoln Park with a friend who was generous enough to cook for me. A wonderful meal was had and a rare feat accomplished - she made salmon taste good. Bread was broken (really and truly), wine was drunk, and a funny movie was seen. Simple times that make me smile and feel good.

Saturday night I had a great surprise. Early Friday morning my Uncle Jack called me and said he was here for his annual Sailboat Show and would love to get together with me for dinner sometime. I called him back and we decided on Saturday night. He asked me to pick the restaurant, which put me in a bit of a tight spot. Jack, you see, is an extreme connoisseur of both food and wine and so I wanted to pick a nice restaurant that was not a chain of any kind, unique to Chicago with a great ambiance. The trouble is those types of restaurants also tend to be pricy and I didn't want to seem presumptous. In the end, I decided on Bistro 110 in Watertower Park. It was delightful and not over-priced. He had a duck dish (sorry Mom), the French name of which I can't even begin to recall and I dined on Lamb Roubachon. He selected a tasty, if unusual bottle of wine for us to share and I picked out the after-dinner scotches. It was very, very good and a wonderful treat to see, chat, and catch up with him.

Then, tonight, I had a simple meal with friends from school while watching the Super Bowl. Not having any particular interest in who won, I just enjoyed the company and Kassinda's delicious homemade BBQ wings. I could not help but think what a different atmosphere it was from Super Bowl parties I've loved to be at in the past, namely the ones my fraternity threw. As much as I miss those of my friends now scattered across the Southeast, I was glad to be where I was tonight.

Now, it is to bed for me. Tomorrow I am taking the Compline ordo that I've created to be copied at Kinko's on a nice stock, in color. I want to do this right and also give people something they can take home with them at the end of Lent, if they so desire, that isn't going to easily fall apart or crinkle. Goodnight.

-R