Faithful Friend
 

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 the dog walking beside him 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 he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was 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 man asked. Of course, sir.
Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man
gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveller
asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued
the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he 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 he 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 gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump." 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 himself, then he 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," he
answered. "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 pearly gates? Nope. That's
Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No. 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."

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Oh how I would love to be able to screen some people in this manner ;-(

Mike
who puts more trust in a dog than some people in this newsgroup

--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Lanc Bomber Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 4 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
British Pacific Fleet. Derby 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Denby Pottery