Old Cowboy, Heaven and Hell

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, “May 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 asked, gesturing 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 friends behind."


Sometimes, we wonder why friends forward things to us without writing a word.
Maybe this explains it:

When you're busy, but still want to keep in touch, you can forward e-mails.
When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep in contact, you can forward jokes. When you have something to say, but don't know exactly how, you can forward stuff.
A 'forward' lets you know that you're still remembered, still important, still cared about.

So the next time you get a ‘forward,' don't think of it as just another joke.
Realize that you've been thought of today and that your friend on the other end just wanted to send you a smile.

PS: You're welcome at my watering hole anytime.

Friends Week

Thought For The Day

GOOD looks catch the eye but a GOOD personality catches the heart.
You're blessed with both!



It's "Friends Day" - Send this to all your good friends. Even me, if I am one of them. See how many you get back. If you get more than 3, you are really a lovable person.
.................... I am waiting

DO IT WHILE YOU CAN!

 


One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the
warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that
sometimes there isn't "anymore". No more hugs, no more special
moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more
"just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all
used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say"I
love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when
it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage .....
And old cars .. And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and
aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because
we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law
after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special.. And so, we keep them
close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent
it to the people I think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send
this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the
person who sent it, if you feel that way. Suppose one morning you never wake
up, do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I
had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or
three words needing to be said.

Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they
don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words
and a smile can do. And just in case I'm gone tomorrow.

I LOVE YA!!!

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised..

The Little Boy and the Puppy

This email has been going around for a while, but I received it again recently. It arrived under the Subject of "Yep, you'll probably send it back." If you like it and want to send it around, just click the "Share" button at the end of this post. You'll find the same button at the end of all our Email Gems - please use it to Share these funny, inspirational and thought provoking emails. Thanks!

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Let's see if you send this back...


A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward
the others, doing its best to catch up...

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able
to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup.

Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy. "No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands.

It's National Friendship Week.

Show your friends how much you care.
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
as well as those who WERE!!!
If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.


WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER,
YOU'RE REQUESTED TO SEND IT
TO AT LEAST 4 PEOPLE, INCLUDING
THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU

None of that 'Sis'-sy Stuff

None of that 'Sis'-sy Stuff

Are you tired of those
sissy 'friendship' poems
that always sound good,
but never actually come close
to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of
True Friendship.
You WON'T see
cutesy little smiley faces
on this card-
Just the stone cold truth
of our great friendship.


1. When you are sad,
I will jump on the person
who made you sad
like a spider monkey
jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!


2. When you are blue,
I will try to dislodge
whatever is choking you.


3. When you smile,
I will know you are
plotting something
that I must be involved in.


4. When you're scared,
we will high tail it out of here..


5. When you are worried,
I will tell you horrible stories about how much w orse
it could be until you
quit whining, ya big baby!!!!


6. When you are confused,
I will use little words.


7. When you are sick,
Stay away from me
until you are well again.
I don't want whatever you have.


8. When you fall,
I'll pick you up
and dust you off--
After I laugh my rear off!!


9. This is my oath....
I pledge it to the end.
'Why?' you may ask;
-- because you are my FRIEND!

***********************
Friendship is like peeing your pants,
everyone can see it,
but only YOU
can feel the
true warmth.

Be A Friend

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.'

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasse s went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives. He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

'Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began:
'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.'

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:

1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it
didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I took choice number 1. 'Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly..'

There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND..

If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.



WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER, YOU'RE REQUESTED TO SEND IT TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU.

I Know you Know, but

LOVE YA

One morning you will never wake up.
Do all your friends know you love them? I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said. Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.

And just in case GOD calls me home before I see you again....... I LOVE YA!!!

Send this to at least 8 people you love and send it back to the person who sent it to you. Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.