General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It says so much when a working family can't even afford to bury the dead [View all]Mortos
(2,390 posts)I would be willing to donate some money to them and so would, I think, other DU'ers.
When I was in basic training, one of my drill sergeant's pulled out my dog tags and looked at the part that had religious affiliation. Mine said, "No Religious Preference." This was before you could choose atheist. He yelled at me and said, "No religious preference! I guess that means if you die, we can just throw you in a hold and kick some dirt on top of you?" I yelled back, "YES DRILL SGT!"
I like the idea of cremation and a home wake. I am going to set funds aside in my will to provide for a helluva party. I would like my family to gather and tell stories, jokes and remembrances of me in someone's home, not some $500 a day fake sympathy funeral home. We spent $6000 on my grandmother's funeral (in addition to the pre-paid plot she had already purchased). It was a ridiculous amount of money that she would not have approved.
Funeral directors do use guilt to up-sell the family more expensive products and services. It is a vile practice.
Ideally, I would like a funeral pyre, but they are illegal and probably not a very efficient way of getting rid of the body. I live on 8 acres and have entertained the thought of having a home funeral plot but the funeral industry has lobbied politicians to pass laws that make that process nearly impossible.