A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN
An old man and his dog were walking along a country road,
enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to the man that
he had died. He remembered dying, and realized, too, that the dog
had been dead for many years. He wondered where the road would
lead them, and continued onward.
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, white arch that gleamed 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 was pleased that he had finally arrived at heaven, and the man
and his dog walked toward the gate. As he got closer, he saw
someone sitting
at a beautifully carved desk off to one side. When he was close
enough,he called out, "Excuse me, but is this heaven?"
"Yes, it is, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man
asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water
brought right up." The gatekeeper gestured to his rear, and
the huge gate began to open.
"I assume my friend can come in..." the man said,
gesturing toward his dog. But the reply was "I'm sorry, sir,
but we don't accept pets."
The man thought about it, then thanked the gatekeeper, turned
back toward the road, and continued in the direction he had been
going. After
another long walk, he reached the top of another long hill, and
he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate. There was
no fence, and it looked as if the gate had never been closed, as
grass had grown up around it.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man just inside, sitting in
the shade of a tree in a rickety old chair, 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 said,
pointing to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate.
"Come on in and make yourself at home."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to
the dog.
"He's welcome too, and there's a bowl by the pump," he
said.
They walked through the gate and, sure enough, there was an
old-fashioned hand pump with a dipper hanging on it and a bowl
next to it on the ground. The man filled the bowl for his dog,
and then took a long drink himself. When both were satisfied, he
and the dog walked back toward the man, who was sitting under the
tree waiting for them, and asked, "What do you call this
place?" the traveler asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "It
certainly doesn't look like heaven, and there's another man down
the road who said that place was heaven."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly
gates?
"Yes, it was beautiful."
"Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it offend you for them to use the name of heaven
like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but it actually saves
us a lot of time. They screen out the people who are willing to
leave their best friends behind."
Unknown Author, but sent to me by the owner of Crox-Blancs Kennel when I informed that Max was no longer with us.