Dear Pynch,

Thanks for your quotes - enjoyed them very much.

I've now got one as well that will fit in with -
Steven's
Cicero quote of - "O tempora! O mores!"

The chief rabbi of Jerusalem is visiting the pope
at the Vatican when he spots a golden telephone on
the pontiff's desk. "Excuse me, your holiness,"
he says, "But I've never seen a telephone like that
before. What is it for?"

"That," replies the pope, "is my direct line to God."
"That's incredible," says the rabbi. "Do you mind if I
make a call?"
"Not at all," smiles the pope.

A few minutes later, the rabbi hangs up then says, "Wow,
that was amazing. What do I owe you for the call?"
"Five dollars will be fine," says the pope.

The rabbi happily hands over the money and a few months
later finds himself entertaining the pope in his
Jerusalem office. The pope laughs and says, "I see you
also got one of those gold phones. Is it too a line to
God?"
"Of course," says the rabbi. "Would you like to make a call?"

The pope does so and hanging up after a few minutes decides
to emulate the rabbi's manners by asking if he can pay
for the call.

"Fifty cents will be fine," replies the rabbi.
The pope counters with, "My dear Rabbi, I must confess to
feeling a little embarrassed. I charged you five dollars
to telephone God from my office and you are only
charging me fifty cents."

"Relax," says the rabbi. "From here it's a local call."