BREAK THE ROUTINE

We had Passover dinner last evening and about 30 folks showed up. Some Jewish, most were not. The fellow sitting beside me was a civilian from Detroit, of Syrian descent. He has close ties to the Jewish community there (I think he's Christian, not Moslem) and wanted to attend the Seder. The Rabbi was very entertaining, explaining the reasoning behind many of the traditions of Passover as well as its history. We had all of the traditional foods, eggs, greens, bitters, matzo ball soup, charoset, and yes, even gefilta fish. To those unfamiliar with gefilta fish (just saying it is diffcult), it is a white fish that is basically made into a oval shape and stuffed in a jar with clear jelly to preserve it. Believe it or not, it doesn't taste too bad but most of us just eat it this one time of the year. At the end of the meal, the Rabbi had us singing non-traditional songs that spoke to the history of Passover, but using popular tunes such as several Beatles hit songs, the Flinstones, Some of My Favorite Things, A Spoonful of Sugar, etc.... It was fun as everyone knew the tunes and the words were printed for us.

I now have several dozen boxes of matzo for future distribution to anyone wanting some. We also received several dozen boxes of kosher Beef Goulash that can be stored on the shelf for years. It's similar to MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) that the military issues except these are kosher. I had such high hopes for these meals since kosher meat is usually the best kind. After heating it up and tasting it, I must conclude that MREs taste better. There was too much fat on the meat and not enough meat. Also the total fat is 43% of daily value, saturated fat, 59% , and cholesterol, 34%. I could eat a Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar for less fat content and be much happier in the process.

I must be running out of things to say given that I'm rambling on about meals. Speaking of which, it get pretty routine here for meals. I've tried eating at the 3 different dining facilities, Burger King, and very occasionally Pizza Hut (doesn't taste like Pizza Hut). I've missed meals to try and make the other meal more appetizing. After awhile, it all feels the same. The food is good, I just feel like a goose on a conveyer belt getting fed, to eventually be turned into pate.
So today, I went for a run at lunch and got a haircut, anything to break up the routine. Tomorrow afternoon I'll try swimming again. Given the limited places we can go and a 6.5 day work week, everything blends into eachother. I just keep reminding myself why I am here. It could be worse.

Well I must shower now and pop back into my uniform. I wish for once I could eat dinner in my PT gear. Rules are rules. Take care......