The Phone

A man decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he
bought a plane ticket and took a trip 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 that read "$10,000 per call".
The man, being intrigued, asked a priest who was 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.

Next stop was in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same
golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same
kind of telephone he saw 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. "O.K., thank you," said the man.

He then traveled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and
New York. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same
"$10,000 per call" sign under it. The man, upon leaving New York decided to
travel out west to see if western states had the same phone.

He arrived in New Mexico, 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 so 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 New Mexico now, son - it's a local
call".