Going to the funeral home was really stressful. My Father had died and I had to prepare for his final departure. After my Mother, this was easier. But, I also found this trip to the funeral home different.
First, I just have to say, like with my Mother, this was not the last time I would see my Father. I'm not a church-going or Bible/Quran-beating or hellfire and brimstone kind of guy. In other words, I'm not religious, but I am highly spiritual. Just because you die, doesn't mean that's it. You're just off on some new adventure.
Second, the funeral director told me something I just couldn't help but laugh at... Now really think about this after you read it... The casket that my brother picked out for my Father is made of steel. A robin-egg blue steel casket.... Guaranteed not to rust... Yep. That's part of the guarantee. Not. To. Rust.
Really!? Really?! And just how do they guarantee that it won't rust??? Will the company be coming by in a year, dig up my Father, and check it? Do they add this onto the cost? Just how do you guarantee that? If it does rust, do I get money back? Can I request a refund?
Funerals are for the living. Most people wouldn't disagree. It's time to say goodbye to a loved one, bury their remains, go home, and move with the new pattern of life. My Father wanted a cheap funeral.
"I think I may be cremated. It's such a waste to buy a casket," he would say.
"Only if you put it in writing," I responded, thinking of how my sister and his girlfriend would respond. I knew both would pitch a fit. If that's what he wanted, and he put it in writing, that's what I would have done. Personally, I didn't care.
I don't want to be cremated. I can't stand the heat. But then, I hear my Father's voice in my head.
"What do you care? You'll be dead." In which case, maybe I will with instructions to scatter me on the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World.
With that, I return to the guarantee of a casket being rust-proof. If it rusts, so what. Nobody's going to know. And besides, you're dead and you'll never know.
Silly casket company!
CSM
First, I just have to say, like with my Mother, this was not the last time I would see my Father. I'm not a church-going or Bible/Quran-beating or hellfire and brimstone kind of guy. In other words, I'm not religious, but I am highly spiritual. Just because you die, doesn't mean that's it. You're just off on some new adventure.
Second, the funeral director told me something I just couldn't help but laugh at... Now really think about this after you read it... The casket that my brother picked out for my Father is made of steel. A robin-egg blue steel casket.... Guaranteed not to rust... Yep. That's part of the guarantee. Not. To. Rust.
Really!? Really?! And just how do they guarantee that it won't rust??? Will the company be coming by in a year, dig up my Father, and check it? Do they add this onto the cost? Just how do you guarantee that? If it does rust, do I get money back? Can I request a refund?
Funerals are for the living. Most people wouldn't disagree. It's time to say goodbye to a loved one, bury their remains, go home, and move with the new pattern of life. My Father wanted a cheap funeral.
"I think I may be cremated. It's such a waste to buy a casket," he would say.
"Only if you put it in writing," I responded, thinking of how my sister and his girlfriend would respond. I knew both would pitch a fit. If that's what he wanted, and he put it in writing, that's what I would have done. Personally, I didn't care.
I don't want to be cremated. I can't stand the heat. But then, I hear my Father's voice in my head.
"What do you care? You'll be dead." In which case, maybe I will with instructions to scatter me on the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World.
With that, I return to the guarantee of a casket being rust-proof. If it rusts, so what. Nobody's going to know. And besides, you're dead and you'll never know.
Silly casket company!
CSM
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