Marlo Thomas: The Promise

You know how, whenever you're in trouble, you make a promise -- to yourself, or God or whomever -- to dig yourself out of the hole you're in? And then, of course, your problem is resolved, the dawn breaks, and so does your promise. That's the funny thing about promises. They're often fleeting. But I know a guy who once made a promise -- a pretty big one -- and actually kept it. That guy was my dad. He was a young entertainer, just starting out, with his first child (me) on the way. His career wasn't going so well, and when he went to church one Sunday, he prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint...