Today, I woke very early and drove down to Jourdanton to visit a friend in the hospital. Visiting hours started at 7am. I read to him a little, listened when he spoke, and chatted about stuff. Even though my goal was to bless him by listening, he asked me about my activities. Friends are like that. We need some special designation for quality of friendship. There are friends, and there are FRIENDS. Frequently, I refer to him as my brother to show that the relationship is stronger than normal, but lacks any boyfriend/girlfriend qualities.
What I read him concerned some of the reason for that relationship. He is my brother in Christ. Seventy to eighty percent of Americans are Christian, so technically, they are my brothers or sisters in Christ, too, but most of them seem to have left home and ignore the finer points of their heritage. My friend and I definitely live in the same household, the Household of Faith, if you will. We believe for more than just salvation.
When he first realized that something in his body was wrong, he did not have a job. I had just lived through my own surgery for the same condition, and taught him how to change his diet. The second warning convinced him to stick to the diet. It was his first day on a new job. His employer signed him up for medical insurance. The holidays came. Holiday foods include lots of fat and caustic spices.
Most of you have had little experience with our culture and the foods we love. I know this because the vast majority of Americans online are WASPS: white, anglo-saxon, protestants (at least in ancestry). The Hispanic community is growing, but that doesn't mean that all we do (or eat) is mainstream. My friend saturated himself in all the traditional festivities, and after work on Tuesday arrived at the Emergency Room.
He no longer has a gall bladder. When his body gets used to that, he can eat all the tamales, picante, and menudo he wants.
crossing fingers and praying for a speedy recovery for your friend
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