The Real Heaven Minute

This Minute is meant for Scouts BSA.

An old man and his dog died one day.
The man found himself walking along a country road with his dog. After a while, he saw a white marble wall winding along beside the road. At the top of a hill, there was a white arch in the wall with a magnificent gate that gleamed like mother of pearl. The side road leading to the gate was solid gold.
The man approached the gate where he saw someone sitting in an ornate chair under a large umbrella for shade and sipping on a cold glass of water.

When he was close enough, the traveler called out, "Excuse me, sir, is this heaven?"

"Yes, it is," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some extra water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up," and the huge gate began to open.

"Would it be ok for my friend to come in?" the man asked, pointing toward his dog.

But the reply was, "I'm sorry, sir, we don't accept pets."

The man thought about it, then thanked the gatekeeper, turned back toward the road, and continued in the direction he had been going. After another long walk, he reached the top of another hill where he came to a dirt side road leading through an old farm gate, barely hanging on its hinges. As he approached the gate, he saw a man sitting in the shade of a tree in a rickety old chair.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there," the man said, pointing to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in and make yourself at home."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"He's welcome too, and there's a bowl by the pump," he said. The traveler found the pump, filled the bowl for his dog, and then took a long drink himself.

When both were satisfied, he and the dog walked back toward the man, who was sitting under the tree waiting for them, and asked, "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is heaven," was the answer.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "It certainly doesn't look like heaven, and there's another man down the road who said that place was heaven."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates?"

"Yes, it was beautiful."

"Nope. That's hell."

"Why do you let them use the name of heaven like that?"

"Well, it actually saves us a lot of time. They screen out all the people who are willing to leave their best friends behind."