Re: [PyrNet-L] Heaven's Filter...a story

[TLehrman@aol.com]

 A man was walking along a road with his dog by his side.The man was enjoying 
the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.  He 
remembered dying, and that the 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 his 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 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.  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 water dish by the pump." They went through the gate, and 
sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a dish beside it. The 
traveller filled the bowl and took a long drink and put the bird on the 
stand. When they were full, he and the bird walked back toward the man who 
was standing close by 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 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 pets behind."