the smell of vinegar

In line at the post office. A man is trying to chat up the clerk, and he is getting nowhere.

"I haven't seen you in a while, I haven't been coming around so much."
"Uh huh."
"How's things been going?"
"Pretty good."
"Are you ready for Easter?"
"What?"
"I said are you ready for Easter?"
"Uh, I don't know, I guess so."

Easter is tomorrow. But this conversation happened almost a week ago. And so I ask you. How the hell do you get ready for Easter? Should I be leaving cedar chips around so the Easter Bunny can leave his little rodent droppings with impunity? Or should I be flogging myself to get an idea of Christ's suffering? Clearly we're not, as a culture, paying enough attention to Easter; it should be stressing us out like Christmas. Retailers are expecting a huge Easter season this year to help relieve the woes of the recent Christmas slump, and we're not truly penitent (or whatever we're supposed to be around Easter) until we're ready for it.

If we're not ready for Easter, the terrorists win.