I was just out on the patio enjoying a brief and far too light rain shower when I got to thinking about some of my past religious experiences. In the cult I was part of, we tried to out-jew most Jews in observing everything from the food laws to the weekly Sabbath and the Bible holy days. We were quite a bunch of nuts, as I look back on it now.
I reflected on a particular Day of Atonement I endured (can't recall the year). That holy day is known as Yom Kippur to Jewish people. They are to afflict their souls for the whole damn day without eating or drinking anything and we dutifully did so, only to find since then that old Herb had a habit of fudging, but we never guessed that then.
Anyway, a real heat wave hit that day and we were sitting through the obligatory morning and afternoon services in the old not-air-conditioned Shakespeare Club in Pasadena. It's a wonder there weren't some medical emergencies, but I know of none. We got through and back home where we had a fan and a shower. My wife and I stripped bare naked and alternated between jumping in the shower and lying down in front of the fan to air dry. It cooled a bit about sunset and we went to a restaurant to break our obligatory fast and I think we must have consumed over a gallon of water each during that meal.
I look back on that now and wonder at what a dumb ass religion makes out of us. Whoever dreamed this crap up had to be a master of manipulation to realize how righteous such stuff makes people feel. Muslims are even worse about it. They're going through their Ramadan right now, fasting all day, feasting at night. What a dumb ass thing to do! But, it makes them feel special, holy and blessed.
How well I remember.
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