So today was the first Friday of Lent and since I had blown it earlier in the day by accidentally making a grilled cheese with turkey on it. GAH! My kids had the day off from school and I just thought it was Saturday! #Loser
So I called Costco to order a cheese pizza for dinner to make up for my blow it move.
I got a chance to talk with Chuck.
I said “Hi can I pickup a “cheese” pizza at 5:15 please?”
Chuck “You can pick up a “cheese” pizza at 5:15″ I thought RATS, I should have said “May I pick up a cheese pizza”.
Then he asked for my name, so I spelled P as in Peter I.L.A.R.
Chuck asked “Does anyone ever call Pillar?”
I laughed and said “ALL the TIME!” I proceeded to tell him about all the crazy variations I’ve heard of my name over the years.
Pilar The Mar The Big Fat Peanut Bar (thanks Harry George in 1st Grade, you weasel)Rice Pilaf, Pillard (as if a mom would name her kid LARD) at this Chuck was laughing.
I said “My name isn’t some weird hippy name,my name is an old name that I only ever see in Spanish text books or its someones grandmas name” like Eunice, Mabel or Edith.
I was supposed to be a Paula, after my moms older sister.
Chuck shared with me that his last name is “Roucker” so you can imagine the grief and rhymes he heard as a kid.
I said “My maiden name is Anaya, which I recently found out is Basque and means “brother”. Well now I’m hearing all over for a little girls name and I think, Oh man your parents didn’t know what that meant did they, but it sounds pretty.”
Chuck laughed “Yeah know that’s true. parents name kids any old thing pops in their head sometimes. Then the kid grows up and realizes his name means Orange” I laughed so hard!
Me “It’s a serious business naming another human, it’s not like naming an animal”
He said “I don’t like it when people name animals with human names” I laughed.
Me “I get it though, sometimes they don’t have kids. I know a lot of Sophie’s and even a cat names “Frank” but he couldn’t be any other name”.
Chuck laughed and I could picture him shaking his head through the phone “A cat named Frank, I guess I could see that. Frank The Cat”.
We continued on talking about names and how they are important. I said my daughters are Isabella and Sophia which my husband thought were too old-fashioned and now everyone has those names. I can’t win for losing. Chuck was laughing.
I changed the subject.
I said “You might want to be prepared for a lot of cheese pizzas for the Fridays leading up to Easter” He asked why.
Me “Well Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent leading to Easter, only fish”
Chuck “Only fish?, Hun at my church we’re fasting for the full 40 days and no meat at all”
I said “Oh man! That would be so hard! No fish, hun? Before I was Catholic I never understood why Wendy’s and McDonald’s would have “fish sandwiches” only certain times of the year. Now I know!” LOL
I said “My youngest is complaining about NO pepperoni but she complains when we have to go to Church on Sunday, because during the week (they go to Catholic School) the whole school goes to mass on Tuesdays”.
Chuck said “I can see that.” I said”But Tuesday is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation, Sunday is or Saturday night at 5 o’clock mass.
Chuck “A Holy Day of Obligation, that sounds SERIOUS” Dude it is!
See I tell her “God, gives you EVERYTHING, the least you could do is give him an hour a week”
Chuck said” ONLY an HOUR!? At my church one song could take an hour!” YIKES!
I laughed and said “Well we’ve had 2,000 years to get it down to just an hour. That and the readings from the Bible are printed up in the Missal a year ahead (don’t quote me on this). I’ve heard that if you attend mass everyday for 3 years, you will hear the ENTIRE Bible!” 
Chuck “A year ahead?” he seemed amazed that it was planned out.
I said “Yeah so every weekend we all read the same scripture reading everywhere. It’s so cool, so every Catholic ALL over the WORLD is reading the exact same reading but in their own language! Like in China and Vietnam all of us are on the same page!”
Chuck was amazed. He said “I feel like I know you! You made my day” at which I laughed.
I said “Thanks! I’ve never met a stranger in person or on the phone!”
He said “You be sure to say Hi when you come in. You ask for Chuck in case I’m in the back”
I said “I will, I promise”.
So I picked up the kids, we ran into Costco and sure enough there was Chuck in the kitchen of the snack bar. He was looking out at the line expectantly and I gave him a big wave and yelled “Hi CHUCK!” His face broke out in a HUGE smile and he yelled “Hi PILAR!”
Chuck asked”Are those Isabella and Sophia?” and I said “Yep” and pushed them forward (we were in line) so he could see them. I said”Wave to Mr.Chuck”, they seemed surprised I knew him, but no too much.
Then I saw Tenille (Like the Captain and Tenille) and asked her how her new baby was, she said he was fine and how sweet that I remembered. Chuck said “Wait did you just order a chicken bake?!” I was laughing “I said NO, I was asking Tenille about her new baby!One day she is magically 8 1/2 months pregnant, meanwhile I’m in here all the time and never noticed!”
Tenille laughed and said”Yeah some people around here care Chuck!”
Chuck laughed too.
You see my kids, husband and friends are used to me striking up conversations with complete strangers who share their stories with me wherever we go.Sometimes these folks just pour their hearts put to me in the middle of a store aisle. Sometimes I offer to pray for them, other times, I just listen, while the kids fidget and look all around. I’ve told them God puts me where he needs me and you never know maybe that was God and he was testing me to see if I would help and do the right thing? You never know.
When I hung up I checked my phone to see how long Chuck and I chatted, 9 minutes.
In 9 minutes I shared my faith, my name and how the Church is universal and we read the Bible. Some faiths think we don’t read it, so I need dispel that MYTH. But also I want to share how beautiful and old my faith is.
Your friend,
Pilar The Papist Squirrel
The Papist Squirrel 