[Rhodes22-list] joke

[Alex Bell]

As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted to formulate a plan that 
would allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with
him. 
He called for the three men he trusted most - his lawyer, his doctor,
and 
his clergyman. He told them, "I'm going to give you each $30,000 in cash 
before I die. At my funeral, I want you to place the money in my coffin
so 
that I can try to take it with me."

All three agreed to do this and were given the money. At the funeral,
each 
approached the coffin in turn and placed an envelope inside.

While riding in the limousine back from the cemetery, the clergyman
said, 
"I have to confess something to you fellows. Brother Smith was a good 
churchman all his life, and I know he would have wanted me to do this.
The 
church needed a new baptistry very badly, and I took $10,000 of the
money 
he gave me and bought one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin."

The physician then said, "Well, since we're confiding in one another, I 
might as well tell you that I didn't put the full $30,000 in the coffin 
either. Smith had a disease that could have been diagnosed sooner if I
had 
this very new machine, but the machine cost $20,000 and I couldn't
afford 
it then. I used $20,000 of the money to buy the machine so that I might
be 
able to save another patient. I know that Smith would have wanted me to
do 
that."

The lawyer then said, "I'm ashamed of both of you. When I put my
envelope 
into that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000."
-------------------------