A SWEET THOUGHT

[pluto'slanie]

Just thought I'd pass this sweet thought along.
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 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 traveler 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 traveler 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 traveler 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 traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," was the answer.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler 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."

[dutchman]

That story reminds me of my favorite Twilight Zone episode called "The Hunt". I was finally able to locate it on a DVD last weeks it's on the disk "The Twilight Zone Volume 25" if anyone is interested. The story starts off with an old timer going coon hunting with his dog. The coon goes into the water and the dog follows. The coon starts to drown the dog and the old man goes in to save his dog. The man first returns home where he gets upset at some neighbors for digging a hole in his yard till he finds out they are getting ready to bury a dog then he makes it home only to discover his wife's distress over his own death. Finally realizing he is dead he moves on with his dog. The come to a fence he dosen't remember being there before but decided it has to lead some where and follows it eventually comming to a gate. He gets to talking to the gate keeper who he finally decides must be Saint Peter. The gate keeper raises the gate and invites him in but tells him the dog can't come in. The gate keeper tells him to come on it and that he will sneak the dog into him latter. The man refuses to go through the gate unless his dog is at his side. After not being allowed to enter without his dog he continued down the road and meets a young man who says he was sent out to meet him. The young man after a brief discussion learns that the old man had talked to the other gate keeper. He informs the old man that that was the gate for hell and the reason that they wouldn't let the dog in was that a dog can smell the brimstone and would have warned the old man. The old man is informed that there are plenty of coons to hunt every night in heaven and he and his dog are both welcome.

Tom