My Sunday Thought for January 17, 2016: Pie Crust

Let us be the friends we were,

Nothing more but nothing less:

Many thrive on frugal fare

Who would perish of excess.

-- Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894), from "Promises Like Pie-Crust" 

Terry just relayed that her mother used to say, the secret to a good pie crust is it should never be touched by human hands; always wear gloves when making it.  I'm not sure there's any good science in that, but most old adages are usually based on some fact long lost to us as science marches on.  

My own mother used to get her hands deep into it, and I would wait patiently for two things, a chance to snatch some of the raw dough trimming, and for her to make some baked treats, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, also from the leftover trimmings.  You can see my quandary.  Ultimately the toasted sugary treats won out.

I love to cook, though my baking has been limited to pies and cookies.  I used to make my own pie crust, not so much anymore.  I got lazy and used a generic, store brand crust, which got such rave reviews.  I never saw the need to bust my hump making it from scratch again.  The downside is a lack of flakiness with store-bought doughs, and without flakiness the cinnamon sugar treats are left a tad flat.

I don't think pie dough was never meant for fruit fillings.  It is said the Roman Empire brought the meat pie to Briton with them.  The British revived the dish back in the 16th Century, and it traveled to the New World to spread westward across America.

Give me a choice between a sugary, fattening, fruit pie or a warm, savory, meat pie... I will always take the latter, especially if it has both top and bottom crusts.  Even during my stint in Mexico, I looked forward to finding my basket toting vendor, selling his savory, handheld meat pies, called empanadas, on a busy corner of Manzanillo.  He would always see me coming and meat, I'm sorry, meet me halfway.  As he removed the covering cloth from basket, the aroma from the several varieties would fill the air as an enticement to purchase several.

But what, you might ask does this have to do with a thought for Sunday worship?  Well, I find life is like a double crust meat pie.  Life is a bit flaky, at times, and can be packed with all kinds of savory stuff.  How good your personal meat pie is, depends on how good a cook you are with your own life.  Will it be savory or unsavory?  That is always for you to decide.  Never take life too seriously; never expect life to be perfect.  Sometimes, in its imperfection, much good can be discovered.  Life will bring to you that which you work for; life is what you make of it.  And, eventually, when you look back on what you have created, you might very well find that, like the humble meat pie, life is what it is; nothing more but nothing less.  

Many of us want so much more than our life has to offer, and yet, I think, if you live life with a humble attitude, you might find Ms. Rossetti's poem to be meaningful for you.  "Many of us thrive on frugal fare who would perish of excess."   I mean, really, what would you do with $1,500,000,000 dollars anyway?  It won't buy you the happiness you really need; it will only buy you a lot of the crap, you'll ultimately find, you don't really want.

Life might take a downturn at any time.  We take chances in life's dice game, sometimes we crap out.  Take solace in fact that you had the guts to take the chance, then go find yourself a nice warm, crusty meat pie and snuggle down with a glass of red wine.  Life is good comfort food, and tomorrow is another day.

Keep several rolls of pie crust in the freezer, you might need them.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."