By Regina May Cajucom
Serendipity Couch

IN DANTE'S "Inferno," hell is described to consist of nine circles, each with excruciating punishments for specific sinners.

Heaven, on the other hand, is often described as a paradise filled with flowers, flowing brooks and millions of butterflies fluttering all around -- a place where we finally meet our Creator and our departed loved ones.

What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers

Religion preaches heaven as the Promised Land, where sorrow and suffering do not exist, as a perpetual paradise for those who led a good life on earth.

But let's digress...if heaven were a place filled with your favorite things, how would you describe it?

For some, heaven may be a place of party -- where no one worries about too much food, too much fun or too much booze. Now hold that thought...you've got to remove St. Peter from the picture as the drunk gatekeeper! Others may imagine heaven as a place filled with angels -- not in white gowns and feathered wings and halos, but scantily-clad in Victoria's Secret's latest lingerie collection, at their beck-and-call (my dad and my hubby are in unison with this idea, and my officemate Iggy, as well).

Post-Sex in the City-era, with women's opinions no longer suppressed, we could say that instead of "angels" in lingerie, it would be non-argumentative, uncomplaining, non-TV remote control-wielding, perfect shopping companion males (Papa Piolo and Wentworth Miller look-alikes won't hurt...).

My piece of heaven? I actually have two in mind. One would be a Disney-like palace where my princesses can have all the toys and books they want -- where the queen will never say "no" because what they want is not necessary, luxurious, or expensive; where the queen will never spoil any fun because it's time for bed; where they can read or play to their heart's content, with the king and queen not worrying about time, work payables and other responsibilities and simply enjoy family bonding 24/7 (pardon my allusion to monarchy, my imaginary therapist says "delusions of grandeur" is a recurring condition :)).

But despite all this leeway, my heaven will still give me the loving, caring and understanding little angels we have, regardless.

Another piece of heaven would be a gigantic library minus the archaic architecture -- a vast collection of books, pretty much like what the Beast presented to Belle in the animated hit "Beauty and the Beast", but with a breathtaking garden of tulips and lilies and a La-Z-Boy couch in the middle of a large pond full of lotus flowers, where I could read all the books I want.

Then when I get tired of reading, the characters would come to life and continue the story for me. Wouldn't it be nice to see Harry Potter's final triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"; Aragorn's spectacular final battle and ascension as King of Gondor in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"; the colorful, artistic and mysterious exchange between the main characters in "Griffin and Sabine"; or the redemption scene that never was in Ian McEwan's "Atonement", all in live action?

I really love reading. Books pacify me the way an aquarium is said to pacify lunatics (hmm...interesting analogy). It's a passion I painstakingly try to instill in my children. I find it a daunting task because my rivals are the Internet, the Disney Channel, Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers.

But I will die trying because the love of reading is one treasured yet priceless legacy passed on and shared by (most) women in my family.

An intricate web of family drama (in the magnitude of Allende's The House of Spirits, I tell you) is another, but let's leave that for another chat.

So there, my piece(s) of paradise. Welcome to geek heaven.

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. - John Milton

(serendipity.couch@gmail.com.)

* * * * *

LAST CALL FOR ALL PINES CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL (Main & Annexes) ALUMNI: You will have a Grand Alumni Homecoming on November 22, 2008 at the Skyrise Hotel, Dominican Road, Baguio City. For details, please contact ENGR. ARIEL CABUTOTAN at (0906) 3027909 or email him at cabutotanariel@yahoo.com.

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

(November 21, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.