[font=arial,helvetica]One day while he was at the track playing the ponies and all but
[font=arial,helvetica]losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and [/font][font=arial,helvetica]blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race. Before[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest the [/font][font=arial,helvetica]old priest step onto the track.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate the[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]priest made a blessing on the forehead of one of the horses.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]priest had blessed won the race.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the priest would bless for the 6th race. The priest again blessed a horse.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the races[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]continued the priest kept blessing long shot horses, and each one ended up [/font][font=arial,helvetica]coming in first.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Bye and bye, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash [/font][font=arial,helvetica]to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the priest's blessing [/font][font=arial,helvetica]that would tell him which horse to bet on.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]True to his pattern, the priest stepped onto the track for the last[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the [/font][font=arial,helvetica]day. Mitch also observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of [/font][font=arial,helvetica]the old nag.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]nag. He then watched dumbfounded as the old nag come in dead last. Mitch, in [/font][font=arial,helvetica]a state of shock, made his way down to the track area where the priest was. [/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Confronting the old priest he demanded, "Father! What happened? All[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse [/font][font=arial,helvetica]you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile. Now, thanks to you I've lost every [/font][font=arial,helvetica]cent of my savings - all of it!".[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy. "Son," he said, "that's[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]simple blessing and last rites."[/font][/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and [/font][font=arial,helvetica]blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race. Before[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest the [/font][font=arial,helvetica]old priest step onto the track.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate the[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]priest made a blessing on the forehead of one of the horses.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]priest had blessed won the race.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the priest would bless for the 6th race. The priest again blessed a horse.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the races[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]continued the priest kept blessing long shot horses, and each one ended up [/font][font=arial,helvetica]coming in first.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Bye and bye, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash [/font][font=arial,helvetica]to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the priest's blessing [/font][font=arial,helvetica]that would tell him which horse to bet on.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]True to his pattern, the priest stepped onto the track for the last[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the [/font][font=arial,helvetica]day. Mitch also observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of [/font][font=arial,helvetica]the old nag.[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]nag. He then watched dumbfounded as the old nag come in dead last. Mitch, in [/font][font=arial,helvetica]a state of shock, made his way down to the track area where the priest was. [/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Confronting the old priest he demanded, "Father! What happened? All[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse [/font][font=arial,helvetica]you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile. Now, thanks to you I've lost every [/font][font=arial,helvetica]cent of my savings - all of it!".[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy. "Son," he said, "that's[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]simple blessing and last rites."[/font][/font]
