MIXED BLESSINGS...

Mixed Blessings…
(Photo : Great Philosophy) 

Sent in by Olivia Schaffer

One day while he was at the track playing the ponies and all but losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the fourth race.

Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race.

Before the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest as the old priest stepped onto the track. Sure enough, as the fifth-race horses came to the starting gate the priest made a blessing on the forehead of one of them.

Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the priest had blessed won the race.

Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see if the priest would bless a horse for the sixth race. The priest again blessed a horse.

Mitch bet big on it, and it won. He was elated! As the races continued the priest kept blessing long-shot horses, and each one ended up coming in first.

As the day wore on, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the priest’s blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on.

True to his pattern, the priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. He observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old horse. Mitch knew he had a winner, and bet every penny he owned on the old nag.

Mitch then watched, dumbfounded, as the old horse staggered in last. In a state of shock, he made his way down to the track area where the priest was.

Confronting the old priest he demanded, “Father! What happened? All day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse you blessed lost by a mile. Now, thanks to you I’ve lost every penny of my savings - all of it!”

The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy.

“Son,” he said, “that’s the problem with you Protestants, you can’t tell the difference between a simple blessing and the last rites.”

Comments

[Alan M.]

As a Jew & an enthusiastic follower of Summerhill's blog,I can say, without fear of contradiction that this is unquestionably the best funny story I've ever read on the blog. Moreover, the omission of a rabbi from the story could never be put down to racism, anti-Semitism, or any other of the "isms" which the media are so fond of blaming for everything. He would not have added anything; indeed, he would have detracted from the point of the story.A.M.

[Alan M.]

I've just had second thoughts about my earlier comment. This is in addition to, not in replacement of it. A second look at the illustration to the story, read with its heading- "Mixed blessings"- satisfies me that the priest was wishing her (obviously a mare far gone in labour) an easy delivery. What on earth was she doing at the race track in her condition?A.M.