TWO LITTLE DUCKS IN A ROW...

Two of the earliest items from my childhood that I remember from infancy (and still have) are the ducks in the photo above.  They've occupied the bathroom of every family home I've ever lived in and there's absolutely no danger of me ever dispensing with their familiar presence now.  But what will happen to them when I'm finally pushing up the daises or my ashes are scattered over a field somewhere?  As that final moment inches ever closer, I actually find myself concerned about their eventual fate.  I feel like that about everything I own, of course, but original items that go all the way back to my earliest years elicit a slightly keener concern in my mind.

Will they be thrown away, or given to a charity shop or jumble sale?  If they get 'adopted', will they remain a pair, or have to endure being separated from their lifelong bath-time partner of so many decades?  I'd like to think that they'll stay together and adorn the bathroom of their new owner for many a long year, but alas, there are no guarantees in this life, are there?  If there's an afterlife, my idea of Heaven would be to wake up in my present house when my town was at its best (long time ago now), and find myself reunited with every toy, book, comic, ornament, item of furniture, etc., that I've ever owned.

Now, I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking that I'm going to ask you if you're concerned about what will happen to your cherished items once you fall off the twig, but no!  (Though you can address that if you want to.)  What I'd like to know ('cos I'm an inquisitive soul) is whether you believe in an afterlife or not, and, if so, what form you think it's likely to take?  Even if you don't subscribe to the notion of survival of the spirit or soul, you may still have an idea of what you'd want Heaven to be like- if it existed.  And would your ideal imagining include not only the people and pets you loved, but also your childhood playthings?

Don't be backward in coming forward - share your sentiments in the comments section now!

Posted in: Cartoons