Fish Fry Fridays… Shall it Be Catfish or Cheese Pizza? A Catholic’s Dilemma

By Mike Adams

Well it’s finally here…Friday! This time of year Fridays mean a little bit more than just the end of a busy week. With sunnier days becoming more frequent, and warmer weather upon us, it is obvious that Spring is just around the corner and everyone seems to be thawing out nicely.

Ok, so let’s get down to business… I am, like most people from Southern Indiana, a catfish carnivore! I grew up in rural Indiana where I was raised in fairly strict Catholic home. I say fairly strict because even though my mother was a Catholic, my dad was not. My dad didn’t subscribe to any religion unless its alter was made out of a 69’ Camaro! So there was a little leniency in the house, but not a lot. After all, my mom was the boss...

On Fridays during Lent, just weeks before Easter, my mom always fried fish for dinner. Always. My brother and I didn’t mind it, but it drove my dad crazy. Back then he had an insatiable appetite for pizza. The old man craved it most nights, but he rarely ever got it with the exception of on the weekends…except on weekends during Lent. I imagine my dad spent Friday afternoons at work daydreaming about a nice quiet evening by the TV with an extra-large combination with extra cheese. To this day I have never seen as much disappointment on another mans face than the look on my dad’s when he got home some Fridays during Easter time and realized that we were having fish!

As an adult, I have jettisoned my mom’s Catholic ways and acquired my old man’s pizza habit. I believe I crave it just as much as he did back in the day, and there is a big part of me that feels that I owe him an apology for finding so much humor in his pain. It is obvious to me now that my mom was torturing the poor man. I, on the other hand, feel fortunate because not only do I fiendishly crave a pizza fix, I am mysteriously drawn to the ways of the Catfish Fiddler…especially this time of year!

Here is a list to help you decide what you’re going to have for dinner tonight… Will it be Catfish Fiddlers or Pizza. Personally, I’m on the fence!