A man decided to write a book about famous churches around the U.S. He bought a plane ticket to Orlando, thinking he would start by working his way across the USA from south to north.
On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall above a sign that read “$10,000 per call.” The man, being intrigued, asked a minister who was strolling by what the telephone was used for. The minister replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God.
The man thanked him and went on his way.
Next, he stopped in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He asked a nearby nun what this phone’s purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God.
“OK, thank you,” said the man, and left.
He then traveled to Minneapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same “$10,000 per call” sign under it. Upon leaving New York, he decided to travel to the Midwest to see if he would find the same phone. He arrived in Michigan and in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone. This time, however, the sign under it read “40 cents per call.”
The man was surprised. Just then, the minister walked in and the man asked him about the sign. “Pastor, I’ve traveled all over America and I’ve seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I’m told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the East, the North and the South the price was $10,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?”

The pastor smiled and answered, “You’re in northern Michigan now, son — it’s a local call.”