#44: Call to Heaven

A man decided to write a book about famous churches. He bought a plane ticket to Orlando, thinking that he would start by working his way across the USA from South to North. On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign reading "$10,000 per call".

The man, being intrigued, asked a priest strolling by what the telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God. The man thanked the priest and went along his way.

The next stop was in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw a golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same telephone he had seen in Orlando, and he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God.

He then traveled to Washington, D.c., Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis. In every church he saw a golden telephone with the same "$10,000 per call" sign. The man decided to travel to the Midwest to see if those states had the same phone.

He arrived in Minnesota, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read "40 cents per call." The man was surprised, and he asked the priest about the sign. "Father, I've traveled all over America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the East and South the price was $10,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?

The priest smiled and answered, "You're in Minnesota now, son. It's a local call".