WELCOME
TOThe Aprés Life!
TIME
'S FL
IES
Dear Your Nameword Here:
h
ere is your personal copy of “One’s The Aprés Life: The Revised Official New Arrivals Users Guide.” ONE hopes you find it useful in navigating your new situation. As an added convenience, this new revised edition has a section in the back for you to jot down memories of your Ante Aprés Life until you are able to record them in your “Memories of The Ante Aprés Life” in the collection of “The Library of Memories Of The Ante Aprés Life.” — Sincerely, ONE: (Known in The Ante Aprés Life as The Artist Maxy aka Max Singer)
2: The Recently
DEPARTED
Arrivals Lounge
the
first thing ONE remembers or, perhaps, the last thing ONE remembers or imagines remembering or remembers imagining about ONE’s arrival into ONE’s The Aprés Life is simply opening ONE’s eyes. And, Eureka! Just like that, there ONE was. It was if in ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life ONE had blinked, for a millisecond and when ONE opened ONE’s eyes, perhaps another millisecond later (the duration of a blink?), ONE had been transported straight to ONE’s The Aprés Life. And found ONE’s self seated in what was either a large, upholstered easy chair, (or a small, straightbacked wooden chair?) in a cavernous (or cramped, crowded or half-empty?) indoor (or outdoor?) space over which, what appeared to be an entrance of some sort, hung a large (medium or smallish?) illuminated (or handpainted?) sign that simply and clearly read The Recently Departed Arrivals Lounge.
One
was a bit befuddled and disoriented. But, nonetheless, there ONE was. And ONE was not alone: ONE was surrounded by Others, a horde of grinning, unfamiliar countenances, hovering over ONE, clapping or cheering, patting ONE on the back, planting wet kisses on ONE’s forehead, blowing horns or banging on drums. ONE has a vague recollection of seeing balloons floating about and a banner or sign hanging before ONE that ONE believes might have read:
E e M O C L WE meword” her FE ’s “na I L S É [one APR E H T TO
3: “NAME”Words
IF
ONE’s recollection is correct,
on the banner, in the place where ONE had just seen “one’s nameword here”, suddenly appeared a group of letters, which ONE then assumed was meant to be ONE’s “nameword.” (ONE seems to recall the “nameword” on the banner was Clyde (or perhaps Ernesto, Kwasulu or Ming). ONE just can’t seem to remember clearly. While this “nameword” on the banner may have been ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life “nameword,” or intended to represent it, ONE did not know then, nor does ONE know now, whether it actually was ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life “nameword.”
In
addition ONE also cannot state with any degree of certainty whether in fact this or any such “nameword” was on the banner — or if there actually were a banner — as illusory and fleeting, as ONE has since garnered, such early memories of ONE’s arrival into The Aprés Life seem to be. In any case, the whole question of what ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life “nameword” was, or what the nature of a “nameword” is, at all, ONE senses, most likely, as most questions here it now appears, will remain unanswered. Nonetheless, for some reason, ONE still feels some need to apologize for ONE’s lack of clarity about ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life “nameword.”
4: CHOICE
Words
In
the end, since there is no certainty, no definitive answer, or memory, or recollection, of what ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life “nameword” was, ONE finds ONE’s self thus encouraged — or left alone — to simply choose what one wishes to be called. On an ad hoc basis. ONE could call ONE's self one thing in the morning. Another at midday. Yet another in the evening.
ONE
seems to have total freedom of choice in this matter. Some of the Others even choose a “group of letters” which does not appear to have the qualities of a “nameword”, but then, when once adopted, becomes one. There is one of the Others, for example, who wishes to be known as “Conversation Piece.” Yet another as “twenty plus.” Another as “Qwixyk.” Yet another as “10001000.” There is also a “Didgeridoo.” An “Axis of Evil.” An “Element 79.” As for ONE’s self, ONE has obviously taken to calling ONE’s self “ONE.” But ONE is free to change it at any time! And ONE may already have done so. On multiple occasions.
...ONE is not certain...
5: MEMORIES
of ONE’S the ANTE Aprés Life
S
hortly after ONE’s arrival ONE read in the aforementioned “One’s The Aprés Life: The Revised Official New Arrivals Users Guide” that it was important to “record” whatever memories of ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life ONE had retained, and to do so in an area set solely aside for this purpose, in the Memories of One’s The Ante Aprés Life wing of The Library of Memories of The Ante Aprés Life.
O
NE was made to understand the
urgency of this endeavor, and of its completion as soon as possible, since, as the handbook stated: “the sooner one ‘records’ these memories, the more complete and accurate they will be,” as, it went on,
“memories of ONE’s The Ante Aprés Life tend to fade over time and, eventually, disappear entirely over the eternity spent here.” ONE believes ONE had set to this task immediately after ONE’s arrival. Which ONE believes was recent. But it could just as well have been “Weeks?” “Months?” “Years?” “Centuries?” “Millennia?” In the end ONE is uncertain, as time is a somewhat nebulous notion here in The Aprés Life. (There is no explanation given in the handbook as to the purpose of this exercise. Perhaps for statistical research of some sort? to provide data to enable improvements in the process of transition from The Ante Aprés Life to The Aprés Life.)
O
NE is not certain that either of
these purposes, indeed, are the point of this endeavor. What seems, after all, to ONE, a pointless endeavor! Seemingly pointless, because, as the hand book states, “denizens of The Aprés Life rarely, if ever, return to the library to review one’s entries.” And, thus far, in ONE’s own experience, once having finished one’s recording, not ONE nor a single one of the Others has ever expressed any desire to return to the library to listen to, or read, or watch, or absorb their entries or those of others, by whatever method such memories might be communicated.
6: THE LIBRARY
of The ANTE
Aprés Life
As
to the physical nature or location of the Library itself: although ONE believes ONE is certain ONE has been there, ONE is unable to recall any details of ONE’s visit or visits and thus is at a loss to describe the “place.” Nor are there any such details about it in the handbook. Thus ONE cannot state with any degree of certainty whether the Library is in fact an actual physical space, a “building” of sorts, a “room”, or a something of a different nature altogether.
A
mental construct? Not implausible considering the implausible circumstances ONE finds ONE’s self in! Similarly not mentioned in the handbook is the particular method or methods by which such memories were to be “recorded.” Did ONE use a mechanical device of some sort?
ONE doesn’t recall...
ere electrodes placed on ONE’s head and attached to a machine to extract such memories through some sort of physical or psychic osmosis? ONE doesn’t recall. Did the process involved an intervention of some sort? ONE doesn’t recall. Perhaps the process is different for each new arrival. Perhaps ONE’s curiosity about this matter will entirely evaporate as time goes on.
and on... AND ON...
What the OTHERS are saying about “One’s The Aprés Life: The Revised Official New Arrivals Users Guide”
“...can’t ‘not live’ wihout it...”
— TWENTY PLUS
“...an aprés life saver...”
— QWIXYK
“...a timeless classic”
— DIDGERIDOO
“...an endless font of wisdom...”
— 10001000
contact ONE at: themaxyfactory@yahoo.com follow ONE at: facebook.com/theartismaxy
A “LITTLE BOOK” BY MAX SINGER © 2025