Saturday, April 21, 2018

Your Father Warned Us About You

About 25 years ago I sat in the last row in a Catholic church in Albuquerque. A little old white haired lady, wearing glasses and a hat sat next to me.
I whispered gleefully to myself, "Yes." 

I leaned close to her and pointed to the Catholic priest in the sanctuary. 
"Do you see that priest up there?" I asked with a whisper.
She glared at me, over her glasses, giving the "look". We all know that "look". We have all seen it, that look that tells me that I am supposed to be quite and reverent in church. I hesitated, but only for a moment. 

"He got my mother pregnant," I said.
I waited for her response. I expected a look of shock or disgust. I would have been satisfied with either one. However, her response surprised me. It was not at all what I expected. I certainly wasn't expecting to see a smile on her face. she turned to me and said,  "I know who you are. Your father warned us about you."


My mother died in 1986. 3 years later, my father was ordained as a Catholic priest. 



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