A long time ago

A.M. mentioned that his father said "You're Dead for a Long Time". That is a very sobering thought for those who do not believe in an after life. The converse of that statement is "You're on this Earth a very short time". Both quantify time equally but have very different potential connotations.

What is the definition of a long time? "In a place a long long time ago" .... is one of those phrases used to start an interesting story of someone's past. A story that lives on ... influencing others beyond the main character's short life span on earth. A story potentially told (or read) for thousands of years.

The written stories (and the earliest) are from the Bible. They were first passed on verbally and then captured in print. So the character is not "dead" if the story lives on.

So maybe "You're Dead for a Long Time when your story dies"

What "short" story are you authoring? How long will it be told?