An Untypical Friday

My schedule on Friday is usually pretty predictable. I have a meeting at 9:30, then I run errands on the way home. After lunch I get some type of exercise, then mid-afternoon have a snack and do a crossword puzzle before starting on dinner. After dinner I watch TV/read/surf the web until bedtime.

Today didn't flow anything like that, and it was a great day.

Things started changing on Wednesday. Hubby Tony reminded me that this Friday it was his turn to drive donated sandwiches down to two organizations in the city who feed the homeless. The man who usually volunteers with him was going to be out of town. Tony checked around but was unable to find an alternate volunteer.

Tony and I had decided to eat dinner at a Fish Fry at an alternate church this week. He had come up with the suggestion of St. Alphonsus Liguori "Rock" Catholic Church, a historic Black Catholic church in St. Louis. This one was unique because it took place during the lunch hour and afternoon.

Our original plan was to stop by for an early dinner, but when I realized that it wouldn't be too much of a detour from the sandwich donation stops I told Tony I would go with him and we could have a lunch date.

Everything went according to plan. There was even time to walk through some lovely city neighborhoods after delivering the sandwich but before heading to the church. We arrived at 11:15, and I was surprised to see that the parking lot was already full.

The menu had three types of fish, and could be ordered as a meal (with spaghetti, cole slaw, a piece of bread, and a small slice of cake) or a sandwich. We both passed on the cod, which shows up everywhere, and ordered catfish and jack salmon meals.

The church had a nice delivery system. Ordering was done via a paper menu, which had a two-part ticket attached to it. After paying for the food the cashier tore the ticket in half and handed it to us, saying they would call the number when the food was ready.

The kitchen was also doing a substantial number of carry out orders, so it was a little bit of a wait for our food, but it was worth it. Each meal had two large pieces of fish, so Tony and I shared. Both of them were lightly breaded, freshly fried, and piping hot. The side dishes were fresh and tasty. 

On the way home we passed by a veteran's hospital a large group lined both sides of the street, protesting the Trump Administration’s planned cuts to veterans services. When Tony politely honked his horn the nearby protesters cheered.