Cheriss May for BI
It all started with bacon bits. There were bacon bits on my wedge salad. As a semi-observant Jewish guest sitting down to a private dinner at the swank Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC, I debated whether to speak up. Then Cheyne Day, who teaches the Christian Bible to lawmakers in Arkansas, did it for me.
"I can't have that," Day said.
"Me neither," I said.
A waiter brought us new bacon-free salads. I soon learned that Day, in addition to being a devout Christian, was a more observant follower of the Torah than I was. He had a mezuzah on his door, celebrated Hanukkah, read the weekly Torah portion in Hebrew plus some Talmud, and occasionally worshiped in synagogue.