I’m not much for Mardi Gras–too old, too tired, too many hangovers. And that’s just the French Quarter. I, however, can’t take much forced revelry, either. But before Ash Wednesday strikes, let me point you to a Tim Dolan post I missed earlier, Cathy Grossman’s USA Today roundup, which includes a couple good Dolan lines to be kept in mind for later years when he’s ticking everyone off. Hey, it happens. It’ll even happen to Obama. Maybe after tonight’s State of the Union. In any case…

Church historian Matthew Bunson says the pudgy archbishop once told him he preferred to try and lose weight with a stationary bicycle rather than a treadmill because you can ride with a beer in one hand and a ham sandwich in the other.

More to the point for New Yorkers wondering what to expect. In the January 2005 edition of The Priest magazine in a column addressing the whipsawing challenges faced by priests with disgruntled parishioners, Dolan wrote:

Not long ago, I got a letter from a group of people in a parish saying their pastor had to go because ”sometimes he curses.” My reply? ”Big damn deal. He’s staying.”

Oh, and Dolan apparently thought the call from Obama was his brother pranking him. I imagine the jokester he had in mind is the brother who is a former AM radio host.

Ah, farewell to flesh!

PS: Great NY Post cover shot via Rocco.