Thanks to Ith, I located* this post on The Laughing Wolf.** It is a humorous and well-written piece about his take on death and funerals. I recommend you read it.
It made me reflect upon my own thoughts on the subject. I cannot convince myself that I have not shared some of these thoughts before, but alas, so what! If I have, I am sure they bear repeating.
Both of my parents passed recently. My mother had requested to be cremated and to have her ashes scattered somewhere remote in the Rockies. After she died, my father suggested that we scatter her ashes over her grandparent's graves. They had been the pillar of her life, as well as the nexus between all of my closely connected relatives. My sister, brother and I agreed. When my father died the next year, it was his request to have the same thing done: cremation and his ashes scattered over the same graves. I have stated that should anyone be able to find my body, I want the same disposition.*** Of course, I have also said that they can sell my body for medical research, chop it up and feed it to the lions at the zoo, and that most hopefully, they won't find enough of it to be buried. Some part of me so repulsed at the thought of taking up any portion of the earth as storage for my rotting remains. Whatever ceremony they have is up to the participants. I will not be in attendance.
*Ith's post about this site mentioned Loreena McKennitt****. I did not recognize the name so decided to visit the site to see what was so great about Loreena McKennitt. It was not immediately apparent from reading the posts where that reference came from, so I used the site search engine on the site to locate this post. Now, didn't you really enjoy that?
**This site would have merited a blogrolling on the writing alone, but as I am a naturalist, with a special interest in wolves, the name of this blog rates a special compensation. I suppose this footnote is it.
***As I have previously mentioned, I am widowed***** and childless. Should that status change in the future, many thoughts about certain matters could be altered.
****I still do not know who Loreena McKennitt is, other than she is a musical entertainer. I am not an audiophile, so if it isn't ZZ Top, the Beatles, or Tanya Tucker, there is very little associated with music that interests me. I like what I like, but I do not know who sings it, what the song is called, what supposed genre it comes from, or whether it is new or is from 1940.
*****I was offered a crypt space to share with my departed wife outside the steps of her parent's church in Carlsbad, NM. As I was not yet 40 at the time, I assumed I would have another opportunity at life. I declined the opportunity. As such, her remains were placed in second half of a crypt containing the ashes of her good friend who had died in a car wreck. They were both called Betsy, and they had both died as young women. The friend died at 29; My wife had just turned 33.
Posted by Tiger at June 1, 2003 09:07 PM | TrackBackLoreena McKennitt is a classic Celtic/Irish vocalist, and pretty good one at that. Assuming that one enjoys such music, of course.
She also branches out musically from time to time to add her own vocal flair to more modern background accompaniment like soft, alternative rock. I haven't listened to all that much of hers because I like my Celtic music sans vocals and with more emphasis on the Uilleann pipes.
Posted by: AstreaEdge at June 1, 2003 10:54 PM