The Afterlife: What Might It Be Like?

Last week's question was so nice, we asked it twice: Week of September 17, 2003

Sep 17, 2003 at 4:00 am
Frenchie 2 Lips
Eternal Muse
"I want it to be endless aisles of shoes and handbags and Benicio Del Toro look-alikes."

Ken Duffner
Delivery Guy, Domino's Pizza
"I subscribe more to the Buddhist philosophy than the Anglo-Saxon Heaven-Hell belief system, which is nothing but a dream. I mean, I don't want to be in Heaven with John Wayne Gacy because he found Jesus on death row. People live their lives hoping to end up someplace better when they die, whereas I live to make life better while I'm living. And then at the end of it you're just done, chapter closed, shut the coffin and lower me down."

Sue Zeilstra
Banjo/Drums, Maid Rite
"When you die, the metaphysical part of you, that energy or spirit, 'lives on' and reunites with the overall life force. You can't describe it in terms of the physical world; you'll just know that you're one with it, and it will be the most wonderful experience you can imagine. An analogy would be a raindrop, alone, thinking itself whole and complete until it falls into the river and is swept down into the sea and then it knows 'I am not just a raindrop, I am water.'"

John Fancher
Fighter Pilot

"Hopefully, it's Caesar's Palace -- it's a casino, I'm pretty confident of that -- and whether that's Heaven or Hell is up to you."

Natalie Clark
Stylist, Oliver's Studio
"I've always believed that if you do good on Earth, you'll get to Heaven. I envision it pure white, the essence of simplicity. Euphoria multiplied by a thousand. And there's no concept of time. For years, I couldn't grasp the concept of infinity, how long forever is. Finally, I turned it over to God and I just came to a peaceful feeling, like, 'Okay, I can't imagine not being on Earth, but I'm not scared to die and go to Heaven. For eternity."

Grant DeFord
Manufacturer, Dingleberry Delight Ice Cream (Patent Pending)
"I'll be on a barstool with midgets delivering pints of Guinness on trays fastened to their heads. The afterlife will be as it should be -- no work, all play."