G-d: There’s no smoking up here.
Man: You’re kidding, right?
G-d: I don’t kid.
Man: Gotcha. I thought this was a place of eternal bliss.
G-d: It is for those who don’t smoke.
Man: Can I quit over a period of time? Got lots of it, ha ha ha.
G-d: Really, not funny. You’ll have to quit cold turkey.
Man: That’s too hard! Going to heaven scares the hell out of me! The thought that I can never smoke again!
G-d: There are a lot of things that you can no longer do. Have you thought about that?
Man: Not really. I like, or liked to smoke. Smoked since I was a teenager. Never wanted to quit. Seriously, you want me to make a decision right this second?
G-d: You’ve had a lifetime to make a decision to quit smoking.
Man: Do I have a choice?
G-d: Of course you do. If you want to continue to smoke, well, where there’s smoke there’s fire, if you get my drift.
Man: No no, don’t do anything in haste!
G-d: I don’t work that way.
Man: Okay, give me a week, I’ll cut down.
G-d: Doesn’t work that way. You have to quit cold turkey or else.
Man: No, not or else! I’ll quit, I’ll quit!!!!!
G-d: Good choice. A little late, but better late than never.
Man: Not necessarily. I’m too young to be here. I now wish that I had never started smoking.
G-d: Unfortunately, they all say that.
(c) 2012 Linda Stone Cohen All Rights Reserved
Remember that no amount of money can purchase grace, wisdom and humility.
Until tomorrow…