Planning for what to do with our bodies after death (beach, weather)
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"Human ashes are also bad for the environment because unlike plant matter, ashes don’t decompose."
Certain football stadium playing fields, like at Green Bay, are now off limits due to too many ashes strewn around the ground. I know a lady that divided her husband's ashes into fifty little sacks and sent them to fifty friends to scatter around the world. She just wanted to know where they scattered his ashes. He is everywhere.
I thought about that, but I don't think old organs are of any use. Assuming I'll be pretty elderly when I pass.
I'd like cremation. I have no kids or grandkids, so there won't be close family visiting my grave regularly. But I'm afraid of cremation. I keep thinking of that Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock where the deceased isn't really dead or something and can feel being burned up. I suppose I'll do that, though. I don't think it's worth the cost and anti-environmental aspect to have my body embalmed and buried.
For remembrance of me, I have some personal effects, including writings, that I intend to pass on. Mainly for ancestral research, should any descendent be so inclined.
Taking up land just to house my remains in perpetuity makes no sense to me. I'd rather be scattered on the wind over a favorite place. Besides, travel while occupying a body is a hassle. It will be much easier after that body is gone. If someone needs to visit a physical place in order to bring up memories of me chances are I was never very important to them. Don't see the point. If I was an important person for them the place they choose to sit and contemplate shouldn't make any difference.
Last edited by Parnassia; 01-24-2022 at 12:38 PM..
I thought about that, but I don't think old organs are of any use. Assuming I'll be pretty elderly when I pass.
I'd like cremation. I have no kids or grandkids, so there won't be close family visiting my grave regularly. But I'm afraid of cremation. I keep thinking of that Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock where the deceased isn't really dead or something and can feel being burned up. I suppose I'll do that, though. I don't think it's worth the cost and anti-environmental aspect to have my body embalmed and buried.
For remembrance of me, I have some personal effects, including writings, that I intend to pass on. Mainly for ancestral research, should any descendent be so inclined.
I am doing as my wife did. She donated her body to the local school of medicine. They pick the body up within two hours of you calling. There was an option to return the remains after one year or they would dispose of the body. We chose, as I have, to dispose of the body.
They do a Memorial Service once a year for those that donated their bodies the year before. They called out each name and asked family members to stand. The Dean Of Medicine personally thanked them and each family was given a white rose. Very moving ceremony. They also have a Memorial Garden for those that gave where when one can go to sit and reflect.
A very peaceful way of handling things.
We had talked about a Memorial Service for the family but we decided not to as her family had gathered at our home to say goodbye to her before I called them to remove her body.
It seems most pick cremation to save money. Read about it, they can't completely clean out the ashes of the people before you, so your ashes are probably mixed with somebody else, can't get more creepy than that! No thanks, I'll be sleeping in a beautiful white casket in my family's plot spending eternity with my loved ones who have passed before me.
It seems most pick cremation to save money. Read about it, they can't completely clean out the ashes of the people before you, so your ashes are probably mixed with somebody else, can't get more creepy than that! No thanks, I'll be sleeping in a beautiful white casket in my family's plot spending eternity with my loved ones who have passed before me.
I would think it would be creepier to sit on public transportation after somebody else and multiple times at that. Or how about park benches and in restaurants? It's a long list. Who cares when you're dead? Dead is dead.
I've long wanted to donate my body to science because I have a genetic mutation that caused lung disease at birth. After reading some pretty shocking stories recently, I've changed my mind. One of the worst was that bodies are often sold for money to various buyers. Just what the hell. Sometimes the bodies don't even make it to the teaching universities and research facilities.
Last edited by pathrunner; 01-24-2022 at 02:20 PM..
Reason: Add a sentence
Donating my body to science. Paperwork already done and in the safe. After they get done with me cremation and toss the ashes. Gathering a few weeks after passing. Have the lunch and open bar on a Saturday so no one misses work. Say some nice things and that it. Wife gets the money then the kids. Wills and end of life instructions written and in the safe. All monies with Fidelity, one call to make.
MY mother wanted this, and it was a good way to go. The only thing I would caution is that all the paperwork in the world will not guarantee that the science company you choose will take your body after you die. They all have an end of life health questionnaire that must be filled out for the donor, and depending on how that goes depends on whether or not they will take your body. If the person has had blood borne infections such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B or C, recent cases of covid, is extremely obese or emaciated, involved in an accident or something that leaves them mutilated, the person most likely will not be accepted. So it's a good idea to have a Plan B in place, just in case your remains are not acceptable at death to the company you signed up with.
My mother had done the same, approximately 15 years before her death she signed up to donate her body to science, had the paperwork, a card she carried in her wallet, and she let everyone know of her wishes.
She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 93, and spent her last 10 days in a hospice facility, unaware of anything or anyone, dosed to the gills with morphine and phenobarbital. I had all the paperwork for the science facility, with a phone number and often repeated instructions from her to call them when she died, and they would come pick her up.
Well, about two weeks before she died, my husband suggested that I contact the place, to 1) see if they were still in business, 2) verify the process and 3) let them know my mother was dying and headed for hospice. They verified her records, asked me to fill out the questionnaire her health history. When they looked at the form, they informed me that they could not accept her because 1) she was too old at 93, 2)she had had a hysterectomy, and their client list at the time was limited to medical schools with students who needed to practice hysterectomies, so they couldn't use her.
They did recommend another place, though ( Science Care by name), and suggested I contact these folks as they were much bigger and had many more clients, so would most likely be able to use mom's remains. I checked it out, it was a reputable place, and turns out they did accept mom, so she got her wishes after all.
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I suppose I'll do that, though. I don't think it's worth the cost and anti-environmental aspect to have my body embalmed and buried.
