Errata I meant to say:
...one of the last things I WOULDN'T do after I died would be to hang around seedy séance chambers in the hopes of getting a message back to the living that I was still alive. * * * On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 12:14 PM, OrionWorks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Terry, and Harry, > > For Terry: > > Thanks for the U-Tube video Clip. I shall pass this along to my > Science Fiction friends in Madison. > > For everyone else: > > > Here's what I previously said: > > > I suspect that if anyone were to be so foolish as to > > conduct a seance and attempt to communicate with the > > spirit of Arthur from the Great Beyond all they would > > get back for their efforts would be disturbing visions > > of a black void filled with stern emptiness. Nobody here! > > Nothing! Zilch! Well, of course, you ninny! Arthur was > > an atheist. He's dead! And that's the way it's gong > > to stay. > > I fear that the above comments were taken more literally than the > actual intent. Let me rephrase. I'm personally not an atheist, and > I've said so many times in this group that I'm not. That confession in > itself should give one a pretty strong clue! Ok then, if I'm not an > atheist then what does the previous paragraph infer? > > If I was a proud card carrying atheist one that had the capacity of > being as honest as Arthur C Clarke or Douglas Adams had been (which I > suspect I would have failed at miserably), one of the last things I > would do after I died would be to hang around seedy séance chambers in > the hopes of getting a message back to the living that I was still > alive. For one thing I'm sure I would have more interesting things to > do with the rest of eternity as compared to answering a lot of silly > questions like "what's it like to be dead?" or "...have you talked to > Abraham Lincoln?", or "...is it true the roads are paved in gold?" > > I suspect this concern was actually inferred to a certain extent by > Douglas Adams himself, as in one particular Hitchhiker scene when > Arthur Dent, in the midst of another life-and-death situation, manages > to find a way to communicate with his dead parents in the hopes that > they would be able to resolve a dire situation he was having, > specifically concerning how not to get killed! At the end of that > brief little terse conversation with his dead parents (where he > actually does get a helpful suggestion on how to avoid getting killed) > they tell him quite clearly that they had better things to do with > their lives than to talk to him, and please don't bother calling back! > > IOW, if someone was still determined to contact me (I'm still playing > the part of an atheist here) and that person put a lot of personal > effort into the endeavor I might have to resort to drastic measures, > like sending a blast of foreboding images, like a smothering > foreboding cloud of dark nothingness, a black void of chaos and > feelings of non-existence - basically unpleasant imagery to get across > the message that, NO, you ninny, I enjoyed being an atheist all my > life. Both living and honoring the principals of atheism served me > well for that life time. Out of respect for that lifetime that part of > me shall remain in the realms of the respectfully deceased. Therefore, > I'm supposed to be dead now, and for anyone to try contacting me, an > atheist of all people, is simply rude! It completely disrespects the > principals held so dear to a lot of atheists. Go away! Go try > contacting Lincoln! > > As for Sir. Arthur I would like to transmit a single one-way message: > > So long, and thanks for all the imagination. > > That goes for Douglas Adams as well. > > > Regards, > Steven Vincent Johnson > www.OrionWorks.com > www.zazzle.com/orionworks > -- Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
