03-31-2009, 10:05 PM
Okay, just call me Ms. Morbid...
I realize I'm older than most of the folks here -- 50 in August :w00t: -- so, this might not be the most popular of topics, but I am getting tired of people dying and the family and friends have absolutely no clue what the person wanted. There's a Tolstoy quote that says something to the effect: we all know we're gonna die, so what's everybody's problem talking about it?
For some reason, my husband and I were somewhere and we started talking about what we wanted at our funeral. He wanted to be cremated in his favorite Hawaiian shirt, favorite jeans, and his Timberland boat shoes. He didn't want a viewing (just donate whatever they'll take) and throw the rest on the fire. He wanted pizza and beer at his memorial dinner. He also wanted his ashes scattered at Huntington Beach, CA -- otherwise known as Surf City -- like the Beach Boy song. Basically, he wanted a Hawaiian-themed SGI buddhist funeral with pizza and beer. Perfectly Andy.
Little did we know that he would die less than a month later at the age of 39 from a sudden heart attack. The hospital forgot to ask me if I wanted to donate Andy's organs, but <em class='bbc'>I</em> remembered. His corneas, skin, tendons, and other parts helped people throughout the Chicago area. With all the stuff we had to go through dealing with his death that was a huge chunk of information we all knew and no one fought about it. How cool was that!
So, to all my fellow TSPers, make sure you have The Conversation with friends or family, fill out your donor card, write your wishes down, pick out your music, even prepay your stuff, and then, just relax and live your life.
:ele:
I realize I'm older than most of the folks here -- 50 in August :w00t: -- so, this might not be the most popular of topics, but I am getting tired of people dying and the family and friends have absolutely no clue what the person wanted. There's a Tolstoy quote that says something to the effect: we all know we're gonna die, so what's everybody's problem talking about it?
For some reason, my husband and I were somewhere and we started talking about what we wanted at our funeral. He wanted to be cremated in his favorite Hawaiian shirt, favorite jeans, and his Timberland boat shoes. He didn't want a viewing (just donate whatever they'll take) and throw the rest on the fire. He wanted pizza and beer at his memorial dinner. He also wanted his ashes scattered at Huntington Beach, CA -- otherwise known as Surf City -- like the Beach Boy song. Basically, he wanted a Hawaiian-themed SGI buddhist funeral with pizza and beer. Perfectly Andy.
Little did we know that he would die less than a month later at the age of 39 from a sudden heart attack. The hospital forgot to ask me if I wanted to donate Andy's organs, but <em class='bbc'>I</em> remembered. His corneas, skin, tendons, and other parts helped people throughout the Chicago area. With all the stuff we had to go through dealing with his death that was a huge chunk of information we all knew and no one fought about it. How cool was that!
So, to all my fellow TSPers, make sure you have The Conversation with friends or family, fill out your donor card, write your wishes down, pick out your music, even prepay your stuff, and then, just relax and live your life.
:ele:
A sword is useless in the hands of a coward - Nichiren Daishonin
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We may not see eye to eye, but we can speak heart to heart
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We may not see eye to eye, but we can speak heart to heart