Not that I plan on being buried but the idea of a personalized hand made coffin has a lot of appeal. Furthermore it will cost a mere fraction of those sold by the CID (Coffin-Industrial-Complex) so what is there to lose? Donating my body to science or using it to feed animals in a wildlife preserve sound like reasonable ways to make use of and recycle what I no longer have any use for. Planting a tree in my memory will be more than enough to mark my passing. Having Irish ancestry the idea of a Wake for all my friends and relatives to reminisce over a couple of drinks and some good food is something that I will leave the funds for in my will. So what are your ideas for the Coffin Club?
I want nothing. Burn me, bury me, feed me to the wolves, I could care less. And I hate going to funerals and wakes. The gathering of friends and relatives is fine but I hate standing around a corpse. When my dad died, I knew my mother would be terribly hurt if I didn't view the body. I really didn't want to in a bad way but I went for my mother. Now that is one of my strongest memories - seeing him lying dead in a coffin. I did not go to view the body when she died. I used to work in hospitals. One time I had to eat my lunch in a room with a dead guy. That was weird! His face wasn't even covered.
Perhaps I failed to make myself clear. I am not talking about viewing dead bodies at all. Like you I prefer to remember what they were like while still alive. I was at my mother's bedside when she died but that was more to comfort her rather than anything else. Funerals are morbid rituals IMO. Yes, the work for those who need some kind of "closure" and/or to reinforce their beliefs. Aside from that they serve no purpose. I was a pall bearer at my grandfather's funeral and it was patently obvious that the guy giving the sermon had never met him even once in his life. The last funeral I went to was quite recent and it was very different to all of the others. The religious aspect was short and sweet and mostly it was dedicated to actual reminiscing about the 92 years of the person's life who had just died. Her best friend told a story from their childhood that was funny. Hopefully people will recall the absurdities about my life and laugh at them when I am gone.
We generally had open coffins at wakes. I've been to a lot of wakes and funerals because I was an altar boy in a large church. I loved doing funerals because I liked the smell of the incense! But I hated going when it was someone I knew. I guess the part I hated most was going to the mortuary and viewing the body there, and not really the wake. For some reason our family wanted to spend a lot of time standing around the body and casket. God I hated that! I wasn't with either parent when they died. Both had many health crises, and they lived over 500 miles away, so there was no way to know which one was going to be the last one or when to run. I tried to get there before my mother passed but never made it out of the driveway before I got the call. My donation is the best headstone I've ever seen. It was right next to the spot where my father was buried... It read: See ya soon!
I'm a penniless Brit atm without a funeral plan or a will. I can't afford to die and things like a burial and headstone aren't in my realms yet. I die now, I'm on the rose bush scattered with the homeless people in the local council cemetery and things like my business stay open until no one confirms it at it's annual report. I die, my business dies with me, no named successor, nothing. - and they put me on the rose bush and forget about me. If I die today.
I am confused! You have your own business and yet you are penniless? Not meaning to pry but how does that work?
I really won’t have much of a say after I die. Like my uncle said when my mother asked him if he would worry about his kids after he died, he said no, he would be dead. I think at that point in time, I will not have the ability to care. I don’t care for viewings. I like the idea of a wake for friends and family.
Any body parts someone else can use is fine with me. What remains, turn it to ash and scatter it somewhere. Make sure you're standing up wind.
Donated to science as well. Total waste of money in my opinion. Although the plain pine box does appeal to me...just saying...lol
