Miss Bea was in her eighties, and much admired for her sweetness
and kindness to all.
The pastor came to call on her one afternoon early in the
spring, and she welcomed him into her Victorian parlor. She
invited him to have a seat while she prepared a little tea.
As he sat facing her old pump organ, the young minister noticed
a cut glass bowl sitting on top of it, filled with water. In the
water floated, of all things, a condom.
Imagine his shock and surprise. Imagine his curiosity! Surely
Miss Bea had flipped or something...! But he certainly couldn't
mention the strange sight in her parlor.
When she returned with tea and cookies, they began to chat. The
pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and
its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him, and he
could resist no longer.
"Miss Bea," he said, pointing to the bowl, "I wonder if you
would tell me about this?"
"Oh, yes," she replied, "isn't it wonderful? I was walking
downtown last fall and I found this little package. It said to
put it on the organ, keep it wet, and it would prevent disease.
And you know... I haven't had a cold all winter!"
