AUSTERITY

"Everything has it's opposite; dark and light, good and bad. For the Mormonk, the full moon represents the light of righteousness and the blessings that we receive daily from God's hand. The new moon reminds us that we only recognize joy through contrast with sorrow." ~The Mormonk

AUSTERITY is an interesting Mormonk festival. It's an aknowledgement of the trials in life, which is usually a subject Mormonks avoid. It begins three days before the night of the new moon. During this time, Mormonks do not shave their heads, and they carry a candle with them as a symbolic gesture of holding on to the light. According to tradition, they also wear a sackcloth girdle, but some do not because they haven't had time to run to the fabric store in Provo and buy some. As often as they wear robes they wear the hood up.

I considered not smiling for all of AUSTERITY, and even did a small non-smiling test-run or two. There's a Maverik night clerk who's scared of me now, a Mountain America teller who probably dusted off the emergency button under her desk after my visit, and a fistful of clerks at MAKK Cosmetics who agree that I'm the strangest customer they've ever had. Most likely. Taking all evidence into account, it made me feel too much like a jerk, so I've decided against that.

I think I am going to begin the smile experiments. Once I have a little spare time, I'm going to print up some business cards and set up some online surveys people can take. Besides that, I don't know what else I'm going to do for AUSTERITY. Probably try to hitchhike or something.

Oh, and AUSTERITY ends with a vigil on the night of the full moon. Because that worked so well last time.

Alright, y'all, wish me luck.