Our Lady of the Shadows

This is an absolutely 100% true story. Once Richard Bonomo had a bunch of us over for dinner, and then we (as he says) repaired to the living room to pray the rosary. To set the mood, he turned off the overhead lights and lit a large candle, so that shadows were playing about the corners of the room. It was very lovely and peaceful. RB set some rosaries on the table next to the candle, for anyone who hadn't brought one, saying, "Here are some rosaries." Then he gestured at a painting of Mary hanging on the wall and said, "And here is Our Lady."

I added, somewhat flippantly, "Where the picture of the dancing African women used to hang."

To everyone else's surprise, one woman snapped, "How rude!" I hadn't really thought my sarcastic little remark was all that terrible; a little inappropriate maybe... So I immediately apologized. This woman glanced at me with slight surprise, then she said, "Not you - Rich! Making shadow puppets of Our Lady!"

Once we got over our astonishment, we realized she was sitting at such an angle that she couldn't see the picture hanging on the wall, so apparently when RB said, "And HERE is Our Lady!" and gestured, all she saw was the shadow cast by his hand on the wall, so she assumed he was doing shadow puppets. Now anyone who knows Richard Bonomo (who shares a name with the local Mafia don who controlled the Italian area of our town back in the day) could never imagine him making shadow puppets of holy personages! We immediately all started laughing hysterically, except for the bemused woman who had started it all. After twenty minutes, RB gained enough self-control to attempt starting the Rosary, but he glanced at the guy sitting next to him, who was trying mightily not to lose it again, and HE lost it!! Finally he said, "I have to find a book," and he disappeared into his bedroom for twenty minutes. When he emerged, he was not laughing anymore and in fact did have a book, which he insisted took the ENTIRE TWENTY MINUTES to find. Which is possible...

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