On a tour of Tennessee, the Pope took a couple of
days off
his itinerary tovisit Cordell Hull Lake on an
impromptu
sightseeing trip. His 4X4 Popemobile was driving along
the
beautiful shorelines when there was anenormous
commotion
heard just off the headland. They rushed to see what
it was and upon approaching the scene the Pope noticed
in the water, a
hapless man wearing a Alabama football jersey,
struggling
frantically to free himself from the jaws of a
twelve-foot
sturgeon.
At that moment a speedboat containing three men
wearing
Tennesseefootball tops roared into view from around
the
point. Spontaneously, one of the men took aim and
fired a
harpoon into the sturgeon's ribs,
immobilizing it instantly. The other two reached out
and pulled the
Alabama man from the water and then, using long clubs,
beat
the sturgeon to death.
They bundled the bleeding, semi-conscious man into the
speed
boat along with the dead sturgeon and then prepared
for a hasty retreat,
when they heard frantic shouting from the shore. It
was of course the
Pope, and he summoned them to the beach.
Upon them reaching the shore the Pope went into
raptures about
the rescue and said, "I give you my blessing for your
brave actions. I had
heard that there were some bitter hatred between the
people
of Tennesse and Alabama, but, now I have seen with my
own
eyes this is not true. I can see that your society is
a
truly enlightened example of true harmony and could
serve
as a model on which other states could follow."
He blessed them all and drove off in a cloud of dust.
As he departed, the harpoonist asked the others, "Who
was that???!"
"That," one answered, "was his Holiness the Pope. He
is in direct contact
with God and has access to all God's wisdom."
"Well," the harpoonist replied, "he knows nothin'
'bout sturgeon hunting.
How's that bait holding up or do we need to get
another one?"
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