Editorial
Front Page - Friday, April 9, 2010
Are We There Yet?
Images around Easter
Jay Edwards
Last Friday evening began with Pizza of the U.S. kind. When I arrived to pick up my order, the restaurant, on Rodney Parham, was already packed.
The evening of Good Friday we had a plan. Kathy would stop at the movie store while I picked up the food.
I told the young girl at the front I was there to pick something up and walked towards the rear of the restaurant, making eye contact with a toddler who had a tomato sauce grin.
There was a tinge of guilt, for eating Italian food, as I wondered if it was the Romans who invented pizza, and if so, if that was what they ate while in the Coliseum.
I gave the guy behind the counter my name. He said, “Large Supreme, Chicken Sub and Turkey Salad?”
“Yeah, that’s right” I told him, sounding something like Elaine’s boyfriend David Putty, from Seinfeld.
“Be just a minute,” he said.
While I waited, more thoughts of the Coliseum came to me. The past week there had been a lot of images on TV of the Roman Empire and their hedonistic culture, partying while watching sadistic forms of entertainment in the amphitheatre that is now the seventh wonder of the world.
I wondered if they had reserve seating like at Razorback games, and if you could have bought season tickets, with the larger donations getting the better seats, or if it was first come first serve.
Construction on the Coliseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, was begun in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian, and completed eight years later under Emperor Titus, Vespasian’s son. Vespasian was 69 when he became emperor – the same age as Reagan when he became president, for what it’s worth.
Next September when you’re at War Memorial Stadium during halftime of the Louisiana-Monroe game you can say to the guy next to you, “Did you know that this stadium holds 3,727 more people than the Coliseum in Rome? He might be impressed.
A girl behind the counter asked me my name and I told her I’d been helped. But she asked me again so I told her. She looked at her computer after pressing a few buttons and said, “Large Supreme, Chicken Sub and Turkey Salad?”
“Right,” I laughed. But she didn’t smile back. So I asked her if she thought they served pizza at the Coliseum back during the Roman Empire. She gave me a look and said that their 10 locations were only in Arkansas.
“Oh, right,” I said as she swished away towards the kitchen.
On Easter Sunday morning the parking lot was full during the early service at our church. I found a spot in back and we made our way towards the sanctuary. Inside, the hymns had begun and I spotted two seats in the next to last row. There were no programs left though. It seemed to me that on these overcrowded days that the regulars should get their usual seats first and then let the irregulars vie for what was left. Just a thought.
During his sermon, the preacher welcomed all the CEO’s (Christmas and Easter Only). Maybe he would agree with my idea.
But my feeling when we left was calm, as I thought of the morning centuries ago that still means so much to so many.
Outside the day was overcast and a fine mist dampened the air. We looked at the playground and the ground was covered with colorful eggs, waiting on the kids to come find them.
We came home and had a couple of hours before it was time to head to Mom’s for lunch.
I turned on the TV, looking for something Eastery to watch. “Barrabas” came on so we started watching that while eating Eggos and bacon. Anthony Quinn was Barrabas, in the story of the thief’s life after Pilate freed him. He ended up being crucified after being caught setting fires in an already burning Rome. He was doing it because he believed that’s what Jesus would have wanted.
Earlier in the movie he killed Jack Palance in the Coliseum. Jack had it coming though.
Later at Mom’s it was only five of us. My son Matt was the youngest one there, but at 25 he wasn’t in the mood to hunt eggs in his grandmother’s back yard.
“No competition this year,” I told him, thinking back to the days not so long ago of dyed hard-boiled eggs and chocolate.
Mom, the chef, prepared a big smoked ham and spinach casserole. There were also cheese grits, salad and strawberry shortcake. Oh and deviled eggs. We were all grateful for the good food and a chance to again be together on that special day.
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