THE WATER BOWL
> This explains why we forward jokes
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 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 with his dog..
>
> After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came
> to a dirt road leading 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 man. 'Do you have any water?'
>
> 'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, 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 water 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.
>
> 'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked...
>
> 'This is Heaven,' he answered.
>
> '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, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave
> their best friends behind.'
>
>
> So...
>
> Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without
> writing a word.... Maybe this will explain.
>
> When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you
> do? You forward jokes.
>
> When you have nothing to say, but just want to keep in contact,
> You forward jokes.
>
> When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know
> how, you forward jokes.
>
> Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still
> important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you
> get?
>
> A forwarded joke.
>
> So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just
> another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today, and your
> friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile..
>
> You are all welcome @ my water bowl anytime!
>
>