It seems a man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco, and started working east from there. He went to a very large church and began taking photographs, etc. He spotted a golden telephone on a wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read, "$10,000 per minute." Seeking out the pastor, he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone was, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he paid the price he could talk directly to God. He thanked the pastor and continued on his way.

As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Boise, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Atlanta, and on around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Finally, he arrived in Texas. Upon entering a church in Austin, lo and behold, he saw the usual golden telephone. But this time, the sign read, "Calls: 25 cents." Fascinated, he requested to talk to the pastor. "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I found this golden telephone, and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other churches the cost was $10,000 per minute. Your sign reads 25 cents a call. Why?"

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in Texas now -- it's a local call."