The green burial sounds good and all, but what happens if some kid is digging in a park somewhere and happens upon your remains? They'll more than likely end up exhuming and investigating it as a homicide, won't they? Do people actually do this?
I still don't really know myself, you know, whatever my wife feel most comfortable with, hell, I'm dead I don't care. I was going to have my ashes put into a very large fireworks shell and shot off over the city on some random night and then explained in my obituary the next day (attention w**** even when dead). So I'm not promoting an agenda but here is some info. It seems to make more sense to me than all that expensive, wasteful traditional stuff. The whole article tells about more places than Texas http://www.ac026.dial.pipex.com/naturaldeath/USAandCanadaResources.htm Texas The Ethician Family Cemetery At Waterwood in San Jacinto County, Texas. From a press release (Oct 31st 2003): "An 81 acre wilderness of ancient oaks, hickories, and pines has been donated to The Universal Ethician Church to serve as a traditional family burial ground, where earthly remains are naturally returned to nurture the earth. Although the Ethician Family Cemetery is the third natural burial park in the United States, it is the first that has been divided into family plots of up to 1/3 acre each. It is also the largest natural burial ground in the United States. "Modern urban cemeteries may have as many as 3,000 graves per acre in sterile, toxic environments where embalmed bodies are sequestered in bronze, steel, or copper caskets or concrete vaults where they are kept from returning to the earth as God and nature intended. Modern American families spend many thousands of dollars for elaborate burials, wasting money that could have been used to send grandchildren to college, pay for health care for elderly family members, or for charitable causes. "The spiritual philosophy of the Ethician Church is to follow the Biblical concept of 'dust to dust' which demands natural burial in God's wilderness, and thus protects, preserves and enriches a part of Creation. A pickled body encased in steel, bronze, copper and concrete is not in accordance with Biblical and Ethician principles. 'And the Lord God formed mankind of the dust of the ground, and breathed into their nostrils the breath of life, and they became living beings.' (Genesis 2:7) 'Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.' (Genesis 3:19) "Ethician Bishop and Prelate, George H. Russell had waited 35 years for his dream of creating a wilderness cemetery in America. In 1968, he and his wife Sue, were conducting field research in cultural ecology and linguistics in Toledo District, British Honduras (now Belize). As they had one of the few vehicles in that remote part of the world they were called upon to transport bodies into the lush rainforests for burial. 'I could feel the spiritual essence of the magnificent forest as created by God, welcome the mortal remains which would feed the forest, bringing forth orchids and other tropical flowers as well as fruits to feed God¹s creatures both great and small,' expounded Russell. 'I knew then that this time honored and ancient method of natural burial is what God intended.' "The American 'death industry' consumes both money and the earth¹s resources. Natural burials cost little and enrich the earth. Embalming is not allowed as the chemicals are toxic to the environment, thus burial must take place within 24 hours of death or the bodies must be properly refrigerated in accordance with statute. Although simple pine coffins may be utilized, shrouds are preferred, which may be as simple as a favorite bio-degradable blanket or quilt. Cremated remains may be sprinkled or buried although the process of cremation wastes energy and creates air pollution and thus is discouraged. Graveside services may be conducted by family and friends or by a pastor, rabbi, imam, priest or other spiritual leader. Each family that acquires a plot will be encouraged to erect a historical marker outlining a brief history of the family along the forest pathways leading to the various plots. Individual graves may be marked with simple monuments and families are encouraged to use their plots for the burial of family pets as well. A bench may be placed on each plot to serve as a place for spiritual enlightenment, meditation or prayer. Large pets such as horses, tigers or elephants must undergo a 'sky burial' cleansing process at the vulture sanctuary on the grounds of the nearby Holy Trinity Wilderness Cathedral before their bones may be buried. Memorial services may be conducted at the adjacent Chapel of the Nativity, or at the gravesite. Graves must be dug with hand tools and must be a minimum of 24" deep to comply with Texas State Law. It is recommended that family members and friends perform the task of digging the grave and covering the bodies as part of the ritual. "As the Universal Ethician Church is open to all faiths, it is possible to be consecrated as an Ethician, even after death, upon testimony by one or two witnesses that the deceased lived by the 'golden rule', loved and cared for Creation, and had a profound spiritual persona. Family burial plots may be assigned upon application based upon factors such as formal membership in the Ethician Church, life works to protect and preserve God¹s Creation, or other factors. Although there is no charge for the assignment of a family cemetery plot, a donation to the Church, based upon ability to pay and the anticipated savings of avoiding the tremendous costs of modern funerals, is expected. Donations above the actual appraised value of the plot are tax-deductible. 100% of the proceeds will be utilized to protect and preserve God¹s Creation as the Church has no paid clergy or staff. "The wilderness burial park was donated through the generosity of Methodist Ethicians, Kenneth L. and Marjorie H. Russell. Dr. and Mrs. Russell have in addition donated several conservation easements to Natural Area Preservation Association, a Texas Land Trust, protecting over 500 acres along the shores of Lake Livingston in San Jacinto County. For information on how to be assigned a natural burial plot for your family send an e-mail to ghr@cyberclone.net "George H. Russell, an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, is a resident of Huntsville, Texas, known worldwide as 'The City of Death'. He is founder of The Patriot Network, and author of its 35+ web sites located at www.patriotnetwork.org, as well as founder of The Universal Ethician Church, an interfaith ministry with a worldwide following via the church's 275+ web sites located at www.salvationnetwork.org. Russell, 58, is an educational video producer, environmental activist, historic preservation specialist, photographer, art and antique collector, philanthropist, American patriot and ethician." ETHICIAN NEWS NETWORK, 1401 19th Street Huntsville, TX 77340 (tel 936-295-5767; e: ghr@cyberclone.net www.salvationnetwork.org).
WARNING: MORBID, MORBID post... Cremated. And here's where it gets fun . . . After the funeral, I want there to be a big meal. I want half of my ashes to be sprinkled in with the food, so that everyone at the wake will literally eat me. As for the other half: Everyone who comes to my funeral gets a silver locket. A teaspoon of my ashes will be poured into each locket. Later we'll have a ceremony. Set to the backdrop of choral music and dim lighting, a myserious man in purple robes will put the necklaces (and the locket and ashes) around each guest. This way, for the rest of their lives, people will have to deal with me hanging around their necks. As a side note: if I ever wanted to committ suicide (which I don't), here's what I'd do. I'd go up to the person I hated most, look him in the eyes, and say, "I'm doing this because of you." And then shoot myself in the head, right there in front of him. Heh. That would get him good.
Uhh.. yeah.. just like in Futurama? Would you really want to be brought back to life with your head in a jar?
and become bitter like those feminist wenches who can't achieve orgasm. when you've got no tools, you end up living by new rules.
I want my corpse propped up at the bar at Kay's Lounge. Then I want my friends to make bets on how long it takes the drunks to notice the stench.
Just curious, does the timing of this thread have something to do with the Six Feet Under episode on HBO last night? To answer the question, I would want cremation and I truly don't care where my ashes go. It won't be my business any more.
Maybe subconciously but not conciously..Nate was dead and they had had the discussion about taking Fisher and Diaz green but I started before last nights episode. I actually started it as a protest against the trivialization of violence and the diminition of the value of life that seems to be a matter of fact today. It's a performance art piece titled "Reality Of Mortality" designed to confront the viewer with his own death so that he realizes the utter importance of life. But hey, death is a fact of life and you need to talk about this stuff so the people who have the dreary task of disposing of your remains can at least know what you wanted. Not that it makes a crap to you but so they will feel better thinking they have honored you properly. I cut and pasted the Green Burial artcle and sent it to my wife, my lawyer and friend the undertaker. She's under no obligation since it's not written down anywhere but that is what I'm thinking today. I may go back to 'ashes shot up in a big ass fireworks' idea later though.
Something kind of relevant that I just saw/ learned today: a Pueblo graveyard. Their custom has always been to dress the person in traditional clothes and wrap them in a blanket, then bury them in the ground. (when the Spanish came, they thought it was important to get them to use caskets... not sure why that is... where I was visiting, they had a symbolic casket in the church, and some of them think of it as a reminder of how the Spanish messed with/ buried their way of life, even though they chose to keep the Catholic religion) These days, they bury them in the traditional fashion and erect a wooden cross with the name and dates. They just bury new people on top of the old ones; since there isn't a casket in the way, there's nothing but bones by the time they reuse the site and it's not a problem. The crosses remain until they fall over naturally. When they do, people assume it was "time" and it fell over for a reason. They don't stand it back up, but just add it to a big pile. Kind of a sobering reminder that nothing is permanent, not even your grave marker... but I guess that's the way life is. At least what they do is environmentally friendly.
