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WHO FEELS THE WORST?
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 to 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 baptistery 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."
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