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A man and his dog were walking along a road.
The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him
that he was dead.
He remembered dying and that his dog had been dead for years.
He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of
the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken
by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch
that looked like mother of pearl and the street that led to the gate
looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate and as they got closer, they
saw a man at a desk to one side. When they were close enough,
he called out, \"Excuse me, where are we?\"
\"This is heaven, sir,\" the man answered.
\"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?\" the traveller asked.
\"Of course, sir. Come right in, I'll have some ice water sent right up.\"
The man gestured and the gate began to open.
\"Can my friend,\" gesturing toward the dog, \"come in too?\" the traveller asked.
\"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.\"
The man thought for a moment, and then, turning back towards the road,
continued the way they had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, they came to
a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.
There was no fence. As they approached the gate, he saw a man inside,
leaning against a tree and reading a book.
\"Excuse me!\" he called to the reader. Do you have any water?\".
\"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there\". The man pointed to a place that
couldn't be seen from outside the gate. \"Come on in.\"
\"How about my friend here?\". The traveller said, gesturing to the dog.
\"There should be a bowl by the pump\" said the man.
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an
old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveller filled the bowl and took a long drink, then gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man
who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
\"What do you call this place?\" the traveller asked.
\"This is heaven,\" was the answer.\"
\"Well, that's confusing,\" the traveller said. \"The man down the
road said that was heaven, too.\"
\"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and the pearly gates?
Nope, that's hell.\"
\"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?\"
\"Nope, I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy
that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind.\"
Unknown author
_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson
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