The Brief History of the Dead

While out of town for the weekend I finished a book called The Brief History of the Dead and one of the most interesting aspects of it to me was the take on the afterlife.  Apparently in many cultures in Africa the thought is that people live on in some form of the afterlife as long as there is someone on Earth who remembers them.  Once everyone on Earth that remembers you passes away (or worse yet forgets you) then you move on to the next phase of your existence.  I don't intend to debate what the next phase of life or our existence is, but rather to consider the enormity of everyone you can remember living on as long as you (or someone else) continue to remember them.  Also when I say you remember someone this doesn't necessarily mean you know their name.  At one point in the story one of the characters attempts to make a list of everyone he remembers in his life.  His list rapidly grows to 5 figures.  Often when I let my mind drift I think about all the people that I directly knew and from there I think about the people I have encountered in my life and it just goes on from there.  If I thought I remember people well then the HyWy is way beyond me and her list could easily go into the 6 figures.  I wonder how long your list would be.