A Word From Our Associate&

     One thing I really admire about the French is the way they eat.  I do not have this impression of the French   people exercising a lot (I could be wrong), yet many of them remain skinny.  Why is that?  Partly, I think, it's   because of the wisdom of their eating pattern.  They take their biggest meal at lunchtime (12:00 noon), and then  after a nap, they go back to work (at 3:00 p.m.) for three or four hours.  This allows them to work off the calories from the midday meal, and at supper, they eat a very simple meal, such as soup.  This seems wise.  As     Americans, of course, we usually eat our big meal in the evening, and then we digest the food, while we sleep, adding calories to our midsection.
     Several days of the week, the French also have a small glass of wine with one of their meals.  It would be interesting to find out if the French have more liver problems than the rest of the world.  I'm not aware of such a fact.  I doubt they do, and here is the reason: Americans enjoy drinking liquor at any time, and social life often surrounds drinking; but for the French, alcohol is enjoyed with the meal.  It is the meal, not the alcohol, which primarily carries the invitation to social life.
     Now here is my favorite piece: the French like to eat their salads last, that is after eating the other food on the plate.  I heard a radio commentator recently say that it's healthier, or easier on the stomach, to have some food in your stomach before attempting to digest roughage.  That seems reasonable to me.  But in truth I like the salad last for personal taste reasons, as well.  I love a good salad: lots of green leaves, with slivers of cheese, diced ham, seeds, croutons, and of course, the best salad dressing available: blue cheese (ranch comes in second).  Wow, that sounds delicious; I'm hungry!  And this salad last business reminds me of heaven, which is the last thing we hope to enjoy in life!  Anyone who knows the salad (the best thing) is promised can enjoy the whole meal, with high expectations of pleasure, joy and satisfaction yet to come.  Now I like to eat one thing at a time, so that the whole salad is available at the end.  But there are those who like to eat bits and pieces of everything along the way.  Maybe that is a better analogy in this case, because we do taste heaven in bits and pieces here on earth, before relishing in its fullness in heaven.  Don't you just love a good salad!   
   Fr. Michael