THE LOAN

A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told
the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel
of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated
back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down.

After sending the information to the FHA, he received the
following reply (Actual letter):

Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan
application, we note that the request is supported by an Abstract of
Title. While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and
presented the application, we must point out that you have only cleared
title to the proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final
approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to
its origin.


Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows (actual letter): Your
letter regarding title in Case No. 189156 has been received. I note that
you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by the
present application.

I was unaware that any educated person in this country,
particularly those working in the property area, would not know that
Louisiana was purchased, by the U.S., from France in 1803, the year of
origin identified in our application. For the edification of uninformed
FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was
obtained from France, which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from
Spain. The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery
made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had
been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by the Spanish
monarch, Isabella. The good queen, Isabella, being pious woman and almost
as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the
blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus'
expedition.

Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and God, it is commonly accepted, created this
world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God also made that
part of the world called Louisiana. God, therefore, would be the owner of
origin and His origins date back to before the beginning of time, the
world as we know it AND the FHA. I hope you find God's original claim to
be satisfactory. Now, may we have our damn loan?

The loan was approved.