Walk, Pray, Eat, Pray

Walking down Grace Street this morning, a woman spoke to me out of the blue. "Want a cookie?"

Lost in thought and barely half an hour after breakfast, I wasn't expecting the question and I declined. "Lemonade?" she asked, gesturing toward a big plastic container. Again I shook my head, but it must have been with a look of puzzlement.

"The church is open," she said by way of explanation, pointing to a sign saying that it was the National Day of Prayer. Ahh, now I understood. I didn't go in, but at least I got why a stranger was trying to entice me with cookies and lemonade.

When my friend and I pulled up at Lamplighter for lunch a few hours later, the first thing I saw was the dozens of flags tied to ropes on the roof. What in the world?

"Prayer flags," my friend explained when I pointed them out. Apparently they're used to promote things like peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom, not to send prayers to the gods.

It was beautiful; flags of various shapes, colors and designs snapped smartly in the wind above the restaurant. It could have been an art installation as far as I was concerned (perhaps that's the heathen in me speaking), but in any case, it was very cool.

We took our lunch of the Lamplighter salad with chicken salad (I asked the girl taking our order which was better, the tuna or chicken salad. "Uh, I don't eat meat, so...") and the Fat Tony (spicy Italian sausage with roasted red peppers, grilled onion and fresh Mozzarella) outside to a picnic table to enjoy in the sunshine, surrounded by others doing the same.

I could almost believe that the blessings depicted on the flags (things like hope and peace) were actually being carried to people for miles around in the stiff breeze. And isn't that the idea?

If not, it was an unexpected and appealing art exhibit. Heathen or not, it sounds like a win/win situation no matter what day it is.