This cartoon inspired me to look up some famous last words. My favorite was Alex the parrot’s:
You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you.
Now I wouldn’t say “You be good.” When I hear the term “be good” I laugh and think of Henry David Thoreau’s:
The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?
And if I were aware that they were my last words I wouldn’t say the “See you tomorrow.” But I would say “I love you” to my daughter. We’ve said that enough over the years that nothing more would need to be said. My husband doesn’t feel comfortable with the “L” word, so I would say, “I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you.”
And just in case they’re not around when I shuffle off, I tell them often now so they might think of those words anyway.
What about you? Which last words would you choose?
I don’t know, Jean. At the time something will come to me. I’ll just hope no one will quote me five minutes later.
On a serious note: According to my mother my grandfather’s last word was “Mama”. Since he had called his beloved mother “Mama”, and his wife, the family’s matriarch we were all devoted to, was called “Mama” by their many offspring it’s anyone’s guess which “Mama” he was referring to. Maybe both. What is so touching, and apparently it’s many men’s last word, ‘Mama’ signifies a homecoming, back to where they came from.
Yours,
U
You may find this hard to believe, but I never get to have the last word!
Ursula,
Yes, I’ve heard that is often a man’s last word, especially on the battle field. It strikes me as very sad under those circumstances.
Rummuser,
😀
Mine will be “Don’t forget to water the plants, lock the doors at night, wipe water off the wood counters etc.”
Don’t, BHB. Don’t. Tom won’t like it. Why don’t you say instead: “Don’t forget to recharge your Kindle.” He won’t. Mark my words.
U
I know what I’ll say if I live into the 90’s. “If I knew I could live this long, I wouldn’t have taken such good care of myself.”
(semi-quote from “I’d have taken better care of myself”.)
P.S. That’s because from what I hear, the 90s are no fun.
bikehikebabe,
My mother-in-law lived to be 93, one of my grandmothers, 98. Both were ready to go before the end. Even if they didn’t say it, their attitude was “It’s about time. Why couldn’t it have happened earlier?” Maybe not all 90-year-olds feel that way.
“I must get round to telling you where I buried that treasure.”
blackwatertown,
I love it!
I have no idea what my last words will be…
The other day I was talking with one of my pals about ‘collections’ I own – the ornaments that I bought my Mother each Mothers day from the Cosy Corner shop in my hometown (no longer there) and I now have them all…they are the sort of things a kid would buy because they liked them…
From memory they are china. You probably can’t get them anymore – there are dogs, rabbits and similar things…
This from the 1950s 🙂
They are currently packed away because I have nowhere to have them out…but I was looking at them all recently.
Maybe I would say “don’t sell them yet!”
Cathy,
It sounds as if your last words will depend on what’s going on in your life at the time. That works too!