Archbishop Sheen on Antique Road Show

I joke with my wife I know I am getting old because I am finding myself watching the Antique Road Show more and more. Just a few years back my preference was watching contestants eat live scorpions on Fear Factor, but with the demands of 4 children I now need a more peaceful intake of viewing on my down time.

Last week they ran an older show on one of the weekend editions. Here is a great story about Archbishop Sheen and a little Iowan girl. Now 60 years old, the woman on the show reflected back to her childhood in 1953:

"I was in the Brownie Scouts. And we had moved from Chicago, and mother had packed the Brownie uniform. We had found the dress, but not the hat. So every day, I came home from school saying, "Mother, have you found the hat yet?" This went on for several months, and every day, it was, "No, I haven't found the hat." So one night, I was watching Bishop Sheen on “Life is Worth Living,” black-and-white TV, and I saw his hat. And I ran into the kitchen, and I said, "Mother, I found my Brownie hat." And she said, "Well, where is it?" Because she was very relieved. I said, "Well, Bishop Sheen stole it." And she thought that was so funny that she wrote him a letter explaining the story. But she changed it slightly and didn't tell him that I said he stole it, that he had it, or he took it. So for Christmas, he inscribed [his zuccheto/skull cap], "To Frances, God Love You-- Fulton J. Sheen," and sent it to me as a Christmas present."

For those of you dying to know, the zuccheto was appraised for between $2,000-$4,000.

It has definitely been an Archbishop Sheen stretch for me lately. Here is a little Catholic trivia: Archbishop Sheen's baptized name was Peter John Sheen. Fulton was his mother's maiden name and became the Archbishop's preference.