There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

Later an angel appeared to him and said, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."

The man implored the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.

The man continued to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappeared and informed the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathered his largest suitcase and filled it with pure gold bars and placed it beside his bed.

Soon afterwards the man died and showed up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase Peter said, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"

But the man explained to him that he had permission and asked him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough, Peter checked and came back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."

Peter opened the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaimed, "You brought pavement?!!!"