Two versions of the same story...

A good friend and partner of mine, Cindy, posted this in our Owner's Business Center today:

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was 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 pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, 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." The man gestured, and the gate began to open. "Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. 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?" "Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in." "How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog. "There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree. "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked. "This is Heaven," he answered. "Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too." "Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell." "Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" "No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind." Soooo... Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word. Maybe this will explain. When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes. When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes. When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes. Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get? A forwarded joke. So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile. You are all welcome @ my water bowl anytime.

Since my mind was focused on OBA (is... always... actually... LOL), I interpreted the story a bit differently.

It made me think of OBA as the place without a fence and the gate that was never closed, and "other fancy bizops" with everything in marble and gold... Except that in this case the story would have to go in this way...

The man is travelling with another guy, his best friend... They approach the same marble wall with the sparkling pearl gate... The sign on the gate reads, "The Best Online Business Ever", and they can see that the streets behind the gate are all paved with gold and gemstones. The man asks the guy at the desk, "Excuse me, sir... My friend and I are looking for a way to earn some money so we could afford a better living for our families... Would it be possible to do here?" And the guy says, "Certainly! It's very easy!! You won't even have to lift your little finger!!" Then he pulls the man who asked the question a little bit aside, lowers his voice so the other man can't hear their conversation, and says in a confidential tone, "All you have to do is learn and apply our little cunning tricks and techniques that would entice your friend here to give you all the money he's got! He may even have to borrow some from his family or other friends, but that doesn't matter! What matters is, YOU'll get the money! We teach that to everyone who enters trhough this pearl gate, and everyone does exactly that, and look how filthy rich we all are - we even have the streets paved with gold, everybody has at least 10 villas on different beaches and 20 different brand new cars, and we even stuff our mattresses with cash to get it out of the way!"

Then our man just turns around and goes back to his friend and they continue their journey. In a little while they come across this other gate that looks lilke an open farm gate without any fence... And he asks the guy who is leaning against a tree and reading a book the same question, ""Excuse me, sir... My friend and I are looking for a way to earn some money so we could afford a better living for our families... Would it be possible to do here?" And the guy at the gate says, "Sure, both you and your friend are welcome here! But I need to let you know from the very start that it would take effort and persistence on your part, and it will take quite some time and a lot of work before you can relax and be comfortably in profit with your new business." The man says, "OK, that's fine with me..." Then remembering his first encounter he adds, "I need to know... How am I going to be making money here?" And the guy says, "I'm glad you asked! You can only do that by helping your friend here make money for himself and his family! And then help your other friends and their friends make money, and teach them how to help others too." The man is relieved when he hears that, but he is curious now. "I beg your pardon, sir, but would you mind telling me what this place is?" Happily the guy replies, "This is The Best Online Business Ever." Now the man is confused, "What about that other place down the road....?" - "Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's a money-sucking trap! They lure you in and then wring you dry and spit you out!" - "Doesn't it make you mad for them to pretend they are you and use your good name like that?" - "No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would cheat and lie to and use their friends in order to make a quick and easy buck for themselves."

So there you have it! The OBA Parable of the Two Gates, the Natsense version. :-)

Nat