Thursday, February 2, 2012

The cowboy

A reader sent this.
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An old cowboy was riding his trusty horse followed by his faithful dog along an unfamiliar road. The man was enjoying the new scenery, when he suddenly remembered dying, and realized that the dog beside him had been dead for years, as had his horse. Confused, he wondered what was happening, and where the trail was leading them.


After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall that looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch topped by a golden letter "H" that glowed in the sunlight.

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 gold.

He rode toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. Parched and tired out by his journey, 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.”

As the gate began to open, the cowboy asked, “Can I bring my partners, too?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t accept pets.”

The cowboy thought for a moment, then turned back to the road and continued riding, his dog trotting by his side.

After another long ride, at the top of another hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a ranch gate that looked as if it had never been closed. 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?”

“Sure, there’s a pump right over there. Help yourself.”

“How about my friends here?” the traveler gestured to the dog and his horse.

“Of course! They look thirsty, too,” said the man.

The trio went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with buckets beside it. The traveler filled a cup and the buckets with wonderfully cool water and took a long drink, as did his horse and dog.

When they were full, he walked back to the man who was still standing by the tree. “What do you call this place?” the traveler asked.

“This is Heaven,” he answered.

“That’s confusing,” the traveler said. “The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.”

“Oh, you mean the place with the glitzy gold street and fake pearly gates? That’s hell.”

“Doesn’t it make you angry when they use your name like that?”

“Not at all. Actually, we’re happy they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.”

12 comments:

  1. Omg, what if it's true!!!! So funny!
    -K in OK <><

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  2. My favorite TV show many, many years ago was "Twilight Zone." It once had old Slim Pickins, I believe, in an episode where he also died, along with his faithful dog, while out hunting a coon. (They both drowned.) The gatekeeper for Hell told Slim "No dogs allowed in Heaven," so Slim moseyed on with his dog, eventually coming to the real Heaven's gate. He told Heaven's gatekeeper what the other fellow had said, adding: "That would be a helluva place without dogs!" So true, so true. (You can add horses and cats to that list!) --Fred in AZ

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    1. Wait, now I remember, It was the Twilight Zone! It was back when they were showing it on the SciFi Channel!

      ~Lily~

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  3. I actually remember that story! Don't remember where I heard it though.

    ~Lily~

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  4. Why did I think of the Muddy Matilda post?

    Terry
    Florida

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  5. I have the hardest time picturing a heaven without the pets that minister to us so intimately. For me, the love of my sweet dog has been such an example to me of the love of God. Abounding, joyful, playful,unconditional, the list goes on. Whatever their eternal fate, animals are such a blessing aren't they? I often pray that God will honor my pets for the love and richness they bring to my life. This joke made me smile.

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  6. If you've ever loved a pet, it is true. ;-)

    petek

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  7. Who's to say its's not.

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  8. There was a Twilight Zone episode like that. I always loved it. :)

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  9. The Bible doesn't say, but I personally believe the Lord has a place for animals, especially those beloved pets and servants of man. Maybe not the glory believers will experience, but some sort of heaven. Animals have no comprehension of sin, no sin nature, and He is a just God and Creator.

    Jane

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  10. I just watched the Twilight Zone episode that was based on New Years day this year. Great episode, good story.

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  11. Oh, the Bible says a lot about animals and heaven but it's not something we tend to look at. After all, the lamb and the lion can't lay down together if there are no animals in paradise. There's also the fact that so many ppl get "heaven", which is a temporary location we stay in, mixed up with "paradise", which is the renewed earth that we live together on in eternity.

    Here's a pastor's blog post about it.

    http://utah-lutheran.blogspot.com/2011/08/animals-in-heaven-pets-in-paradise.html

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