"If I Should Die Before I Wake..."

Beware the Ides of March! (No, not the band that recorded "Vehicle" in 1970, silly.)

Here's some food for thought, fellow babies, although you may have a little trouble digesting it.

No one lives forever. All of my readers (mostly other bloggers) are adults of varying ages, and have probably considered how they want their own affairs tied up by their survivors and or executor(s).

However -- and please forgive me if this sounds frivolous -- have any of you Blogger-bloggers considered what will happen to your blog (or blogs) when you die?

Occasionally, when I'm caught up in events pressed upon me by what I refer to as "the real world," I'll post a photo of a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. This is a light-hearted "internet tradition" begun by Mark Evanier, writer of the highly-recommended website, www.povonline.com, and its companion blog, the equally-endorsed www.newsfromme.com, which says, in effect, that the author is (temporarily) too busy to post.

To these posts, I also often add "I'm not dead." Ha-freakin'-ha.

Such will not always be the case. And no, I'm not trying to prepare you for any as-yet-undisclosed medical situation of mine. Just stating a simple fact. I may live another fifty years and die in my sleep. I may live another forty and be choked by a jealous husband. I may postpone quitting that stupid habit I have of inhaling the smoke from finely-cut, burning tobacco leaves... until it's too late. I may sign a lucrative screenplay contract and dance blindly into oncoming traffic. I may even fall victim to whatever is delivered by a strong easterly wind from Japan, according to the recent news (and no, that's not an effin' joke)...

I'm not sure how long I'll actually be blogging, of course. I may continue this blog for another year or two. Maybe even less. I may be plodding away -- or should that be "plogging?" -- thirty years from now, if I live that long (although I'm hoping I don't). Whatever. But being one of those pains-in-the-butt obsessed with a "sense of closure," I've actually gone so far as to write my own "final" post for this blog, in case it's still going when circumstances beyond my control kill off its author (meaning me, fellow babies). I plan to give a close friend -- one who will hear of my death soon after it occurs -- my Blogger password, with instructions to post that final post at his earliest convenience. So when I go, you'll hear about it.

Now. Having said all of that... What are your plans? I know a lot of us have grown very close to one another, although the vast majority of us have never met their 47, 69, or 8,000,000 followers. I for one would sure appreciate knowing what's become of someone whose posts have inexplicably stopped, just for that maddening sense of closure I mentioned above. I'll only feel "good" in terms of knowing for sure why you "disappeared," but hell, at least that's something.

So, again. What are your plans?

(By the way, if you're wondering what the first photo is all about, it shows the death of Zorro from The Mask of Zorro!)

Next time, I'll try to post something a bit more cheerful. But looking at the world around me lately... I'm not sure what I'll be able to manage.

Wish me luck... and thanks for your time