Being buried in a coffin...

Good point. And, skip the formaldehyde in the embalming process.

 

With the embalming fluid, I don't think it matters whether you're in a coffin or not. Being buried deep enough might just remove your nutrients from the life cycle.

The greenest 'burial' would be to just be left out for the vultures. Some cultures do so, but I have feeling it would violate some public health ordinances here. Maybe your family can dump you in a bay for the crabs.

 

Or at least biodegradable coffins that *aren't* interred in those concrete vaults.

The funeral industry is kind of weird, I think; I at least have some odd memories of the time when I had to deal with them. Speaking with stone engravers, and choosing styles of coffin and funeral programs, and the different 'tiers' of the cemetery which were priced differently, depending on their view of the creek or other man made natural features...weird.

Also, hearing someone say "she looks as good as when she was alive" as they're looking into an open casket is simply too freaky for words.

Why this emphasis on the shell which our spirits inhabit?

I believe that Greek Orthodoxy actually prohibits cremation.

 

I used to think a bonfire on the beach would be the way to go, but cremation uses huge amounts of energy. I've volunteered for organ donation and medical research, but maybe I should sign up for the 'Body Works' exhibition? Failing that, put me in the rose garden.

Really, burritos, society can barely accept the fact that we die at all. How many more millennia will it be before we accept being 'recycled' by insects?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyT @ Jul 18 2007, 02:58 PM) [snapback]481141[/snapback]</div>

I trust this not *your* final resting place of choice?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jul 18 2007, 04:00 PM) [snapback]481146[/snapback]</div>

I actually like the idea of being left for the vultures or crabs.
After the useful parts have been removed of course.

Heard on the radio the other day of a guy who had to reduce the price of his by $200k because the vultures had taken a liking to the property. Being protected, they can't be moved. Perhaps there's a business opportunity here.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyT @ Jul 18 2007, 02:58 PM) [snapback]481141[/snapback]</div>

It can leach into our watersheds............no good for the environment.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyT @ Jul 18 2007, 03:11 PM) [snapback]481156[/snapback]</div>

Icky. The first things Vultures go for are the soft parts, like eyes.

 

I like the fertilizer idea.
How about a big grinder and compost pile?
What do you think we'd be on the NPK scale? 10-5-5?

 

Well, better than some of the new housing developments out here, built on old air force bases (Hamilton Landing in particular)...

...Before purchasing a home, you have to sign a contract stating that you will not eat any fruits or vegetables grown on your property, and will not hold anyone responsible if you do, 'cause the ground contains levels of toxins that could be accumulated by the plants.

And --get this-- the concrete is so thick out there, from the reinforced runways, that it can't be removed; they're just going to open it up to the water and let the Bay flood on top of it (not good anchorage for boats, though).

Anyhow, I digress...

I'd eat food grown with nutrients from my body, any day...but I'd be dead, wouldn't I, and then it gets so confusing...
[smile]

We live in our bodies, and then our bodies stop functioning, and we don't live there anymore. That's it; it's perfectly natural and lovely, really, 'cause it ties us to the processes which are part of the world in which we exist. I don't see why that's worthy of denial.

Why there's a need to preserve ourselves 'for eternity' is an absolute mystery to me.

 

That's essentially what blood meal and bone meal are, right?
I think the cremation would remove a lot of the nitrogen though. You should be slurried like a fish emulsion and/or composted to maximize your nutrient value.
We could donate you to Ed Rosenthal and company, and then we could smoke you!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jul 18 2007, 03:48 PM) [snapback]481184[/snapback]</div>

When my cat died, as upset as I was, I mentioned to my husband how beautiful it was for this same reason. I reconciled that her death was just a natural part of her existence and she didn't suffer and lived to be 18 years to die of natural causes. I always remembered I said this and wondered if something was wrong with me for perceiving it like this.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Jul 18 2007, 03:38 PM) [snapback]481178[/snapback]</div>

Would that mean that I'm no longer a vegetarian?

 

"18 years to die of natural causes"
Wow, that's a heck of a run. That's how all deaths would be viewed if we all lived such complete lives. The stigma of death stems from our own fear of dying, and from unexpected or "unfair" deaths.

My brother died of cancer 4 years ago at 34 (again, hard to have the positive view in that situation). And when his dog died last month (was both of ours before we both got married), it totally blindsided me. I could always still see him in that dogs eyes. Deaths don't usually faze me like that.

(I don't think my sister in law will let me use its remains for my garden though!)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyT @ Jul 18 2007, 03:58 PM) [snapback]481141[/snapback]</div>

"You put out the cat, I'll feed the fish."

Tom

 

I told my family I wanted to be stuffed and placed in the hall (coat rack or hat stand effect).
The consequence of this, however, is that my remains would probably wind up at a garage sale or flea market.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samiam @ Jul 18 2007, 05:59 PM) [snapback]481270[/snapback]</div>

You never know, you may wind up on Antiques Roadshow and fetch someone a lot of money!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samiam @ Jul 18 2007, 06:59 PM) [snapback]481270[/snapback]</div>

Funny that this subject is here. The past weekend I drove past a humungous Catholic cemetery...it went on and on for acres and acres. I thought what a waste of land. It could be better used to grow food or as a park for people to play or exercise in.

I have instructed my family to have my remains cremated and to spread the ashes in an area of virgin timber in our state. I have never felt so serene as when I am there. Sure hope they follow my instructions. But what difference would it really make to me at that point? Live your life well and move on. To what...I am not really sure.

 

'Soylent Green'. Recycle bodies and feed the poor.