Bleary-eyed Morning With The Pope

Normally I’m pretty much wide awake after leaving my bedstead. But yesterday it happened. I was making our morning porridge. In order to get SOME taste into this grey concoction I use to add cinnamon and some sugar. That isn’t really tasting so bad. I grabbed the little cinnamon shaker and generously sprinkled it’s content over the porridge. When the sharp smell of pepper reached my nose, I realized I had just messed up an otherwise good porridge breakfast. Next thing I know is that the pope quits. After 600 years he is the first to realize that when the body starts to show incapacitating problems it’s time for retirement. Not too bad. What occupies my mind now is the question whether his Excellency will now revert to be HERR RATZINGER and retire to his home in Germany, or whether he will hang around the Vatican for a while. And believe it or not but there were certain signs……   The German cartoonist Katharina Greve makes calendars with cartoons for every day. For February 10 it shows a cartoon showing the pope checking his Lotto coupon, hitting a full house and thinking “Holt cow, I’m gonna quit tomorrow”. How she ever knew it would really happen nobody knows, especially not Ms. Greve herself as she had made the cartoons for this calendar more than a year ago. Another more scary sign happened in Rome when a lightning hit the top of St.Peters Dome the very same day of the popes announcement. The remaining questions would be; Did that happen 600 years ago as well and was that a prophesy? Guess we won’t know. And it shouldn’t really bother me. I was raised Lutheran. The Pope was of no consequence.   And at last: You might have heard this one, but could it have been Mr. Ratzinger? The Pope goes to New York. He is picked up at the airport by a limousine. He looks at the beautiful car and says to the driver, ''You know, I hardly ever get to drive. Would you please let me?'' The driver is understandably hesistant and says, ''I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm supposed to do that.'' But the pope persists, ''Please?'' The driver finally lets up. ''Oh, all right, I can't really say no to the pope.'' So the pope takes the wheel, and boy, is he a speed demon! He hits the gas and goes around 100 mph in a 45 zone. A policeman notices and pulls him over. The cop walks up and asks the pope to roll down the window. Startled and surprised, the young officer asks the pope to wait a minute. He goes back to his patrol car and radios the chief. Cop: ''Chief, I have a problem.'' Chief: ''What sort of problem?'' Cop: ''Well, you see, I pulled over this guy for driving way over the speed limit but it's someone really important.'' Chief: ''Important like the mayor?'' Cop: ''No, no, much more important than that.'' Chief: ''Important like the governor?'' Cop: ''Wayyyyyy more important than that.'' Chief: ''Like the president?'' Cop: ''More.'' Chief: ''Who's more important than the president?'' Cop: ''I don't know, but he's got the pope DRIVING for him!''   Have a good one and thanks for sparing some time for this.