meatless fridays

Good Friday...the final meatless Friday of Lent. And while I like to think of myself as a good Catholic (well, alright, at least adequate Catholic) I've got issues with the no meat thing...and yes, vegetarian I'm not.

I can live for a day with the whole no beef deal. Lambs, pigs, cows...all animals, all beef. So for a day, fine, no veal, burgers, bacon, steak, pork, ribs, ham, roast or chops of any kind. No problem. So us Lent-en types are only allowed fish. Again, no problem. I can understand the whole fish thing. Fish are not beefy. Fish have no legs. Fish have no fur. Fish do not equal animals. Fine, I accept that. Fish get their own little category in the species hierarchy that separate them from our friends the cows, pigs, lambs and other furry critters by several degrees. You'll get no complaint from me. But who got to decide that chickens are animals but fish aren't? Chickens are birds...and I find it rather discriminatory to classify them as merely 'animal'.

Let's take a quick look at animal basics...animals = furry. Chickens, no fur. Animals = four legs. Chickens have two, plus wings which animals, if you need reminded, don't have. Chickens lay eggs and fly, and...according to many scientists, so I am told, are considered birds. Now, if fish get their own grouping as 'fish' are we really doing chickens (and turkeys for that matter) justice by lumping them in with the 'meat' animals? I don't think so. Chickens are birds and should be labeled as such, thus exempting them from the meat category. Which, naturally, would make them fair game every Friday throughout the year. No meat Fridays? No problem...filet that fish! Fry up that bird! But stay away from the burgers.

The point? Very simple...it's lunchtime, I'm hungry, and I'm really craving some chicken nuggets for some reason and I'm pretty damn pissy that I'll be stuck eating grilled cheese instead! So I'm putting all birds on notice...I'm planning on petitioning the Pope to classify you guys as non-meat munchies, so you all better start watching your backs!