I'm a casual--verrrry casual--Catholic. That is to say, I believe most of the doctrine but rarely go to Mass. Anyway, this is the tail end of Lent; this year, I gave up pop (except diet) and alcohol. For practical purposes, this means no Mountain Dew and no beer. Lent ends at midnight tonight (Good Friday), which conflicts with my neighborhood's normal beer-and-cards Fridays. I'm tired of taking crap from my neighbors for the past month and a half about not drinking, so I'm going to observe the Good Friday abstinence- (no meat) and fast- (one small meal, nothing else but fruit juice or milk) rules in the Jewish fashion, beginning at sundown Thursday and ending at sundown tonight, at which time my wife will prepare for me a shake comprising equal parts beer, Mountain Dew, and steak.
I'm explaining this to my friend Pete, and when I get to the part about "I'm going to celebrate Good Friday in the Jewish fashion..." he jumps in with "What, you're going to nail a guy to a cross?"