Funeral Words

Body Plastination--More Lost Dignity?

"Whatever happened to respect for the dead?", these words ring clear and questioning in the commentary of Ruth Guyer who's audio essay aired during NPR's All Things Considered today. I heard her thoughts this evening as I drove to a family dinner and found myself surprised to hear a scientist and bioethicist worry over the same issue as funeral directors.

I provide a link just below which will allow you to hear her commentary. Take the 4 minutes to listen and then leave a comment right here. Is dignity disappearing from your experience of death? What does this mean (if anything) for the future of death and funerals in our every day lives? What happens when dignity evaporates and our culture treats death more like a joke?

Give it some thought, leave me a note.

Ruth Guyer Commentary

For those who wish to know more about body plastination. Follow these links:
Cadaver Exhibits Are Part Science, Part Sideshow
Origins of Exhibited Cadavers Questioned

Ultra Portable Sound

We've all had those services where someone wanted to play a piece of music at the gravesite or other spot without available electricty. We have also struggled to lug around the boom box or other sound gear necessary to make the magic happen for that family. Never mind that more and more people carry around MP3 players or iPods which will not hook up easily to the boom box we used to borrow from our children's bedrooms on the way out in the morning!

Logitech (yes the mouse and keyboard people) has created the perfect solution for frazzled funeral directors. Take a look at the picture just below. The mm28 Portable Speaker system (less than $60 dollars at Amazon.com, follow the link at the end of this posting) at 1.24 inches thin and only 2 lbs, will fit easily in a glove box and slip under your arm on the way to the gravesite. It runs on four AA batteries or if you do have electricity handy can run from a wall outlet.

It uses what they call NXT flat-panel technology to produce the sound. Essentially the entire front surface vibrates to create the music in one self contained unit.

If you look closely at the photo, you will notice the two hinges along the bottom edge of the speaker. This allows the clear plastic cover to fold back and serve as a stand as seen in the next photo.

Hearses Everywhere

Here's a latest headline from the USA Today.

New Zealanders registering their cars as hearses to save on fees

Click on the headline to read the article.

Remember Me Impressions

Here's a couple of impressions about the new book Remember Me by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen.

• Lisa takes a low key approach to her subject matter, keeping things light hearted without becoming silly.
• She presents a collection of snapshots. Different families and funeral homes and situations which begin to give the impression of a range of possibilities in making funeral choices.
• From the funeral director's point of view, I don't think you will find anything particularly new or different from an ideas standpoint. Everything contained in the book has received coverage in our trade press over the last several years. Still, the book contains many stories and anecdotes which outline real death and remembrance scenarios. A funeral director may well gain some insights into the motivations which cause families to choose alternatives.
• Also the grey text boxes found throughout the book might provide a new model for telling grief stories. In these, Lisa idetifies someone by name and "tells their story" not as we know obituaries, instead as a narrative with feeling. I think we could all benefit from telling better stories at funeral time and with website resources abounding, we have much more flexibility in how we tell those stories since we do not have to work around the local newspaper editor.
• The book could also serve as a resource for talks to civic groups. The more intrepid might even consider adding it to the local book club list as a diversion. It might just open the door to communication with consumers so that you can get a better sense of what people really want from you and your funeral home.
• Bottom line? The I'm Okay, You're Okay generation continues to shape choices in all sorts of areas of life. They aren't going to protest or scream and yell for choices when the funeral comes along. They know they have all the power they need and they will use their mobility, creativity and pocket books to accomplish whatever they want to accomplish for a remembrance. We as funeral directors need to pick one of those waves and ride it, or we continue to risk getting swept out into the sea of irrelevance. In other words, this book belongs in your library.