Chicago

Recently, I introduced you to the late Fr. Tom Wassel, port chaplain of Philadelphia. I had been assisting him with communion breakfasts and membership drives and as a reward he invited me to accompany him to Chicago for a Chaplains convention. It would be my first airplane flight - a turbo-jet Phila. to Midway Chicago. I figured that if anything went wrong with the plane I had the Sky-pilot in the next seat
to give me absolution. The convention was downtown in the Loop and he booked us into the upscale Palmer House (circa 1960). It was Thanksgiving week and our business was concluded on Wednesday.
I thought we would be heading home but he was in no hurry to return to his parish and suggested we stay for Thanksgiving Dinner in Chicago. It was cold and blustery and I said that the Palmer House had an early dinner show with Sophie Tucker entertaining. I had seen Sophie on Ed Sullivan's TV show and she was pure as driven snow. But not in a night club setting and Sophie came out in a cowboy outfit and did a red hot mama show with lots of double entendre. The bluer Sophie got - the redder Fr. Tom's neck got. I said mea culpa, mea culpa and it was a quiet flight home.
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