Give Him the Collar

Early one afternoon in the sixties four  bridge players had started  in Philadelphia and were going  to a tournament by  driving north   on the New Jersey Turnpike.    The driver, whose identity is unknown to me,  Ethel Silver and Annie Gittelman  were in the front seat of the car.  In the back seat was a priest dressed in casual attire.   He who is still living and has asked that his identity not be revealed.   After they had been driving only for a short time,  they heard a police siren behind them. The priest said, “Wait a minute.”  He   started rummaging through the contents  of   his suitcase He found his clerical collar and put it on. A police car caught up with their car, and the trooper driving it motioned for them to pull over. He stopped , and got out of his car  and walked to theirs. The priest asked, ”  What seems to be the problem, officer?” The policeman looked and saw the priest wearing his collar. He said, “” No problem Father, have a safe trip.”  He walked back to his cruiser and drove off.