Preacher's Son

An old country preacher had a teen-age son, and it was getting time the
boy should give some thought along the line of choosing a profession.
Like many young men, then and now, the boy didn't really know what
he wanted to do-and he didn't seem overly concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an
experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table
these three objects: a Bible, a silver dollar, and a bottle of Tennessee
sippin' whiskey... "Now then," the old preacher said to himself, "I'll
just hide behind the door here, and when my son comes home from school
this afternoon, I'll see which of these three objects he picks up. If he
picks up the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a
blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a
businessman, and that would be O.K. too. But if he picks up the bottle,
he's going to be a drunkard - a no-good drunkard and Lord, what a shame
that would be."

The old man was anxious as he waited, and soon he heard his son's
footsteps as he came in the house whistling and headed back to his room.
He deposited his books on the bed, as a matter of routine, and as he
turned around to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table.
With a curious set in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. He picked
up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar
and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big
drink...

"Lord have mercy," the old man whispered, "he's gonna be a politician!"