Cremation or Burial?

[Blue Skys]

Quote:

I'd rather be embalmed and put in the cemetery for veteran families.

I, for some reason, don't want to be embalmed. But rotting is... freaking me out. Should I just forget this?

Embalming doesn't perserve the body forever, like the mummies, it just slows it down. So even if your embalmed you'll slowly turn to goo.

 

[hughmac312]

i cannot imagine anything more selfish than graveyards, embalming, and burials, caskets, etc

human beings on this earth create more harm to animals and the environment and graveyards and all the trimmings
are yet one more affront to nature

dust to dust...

 

[StupidBird]

donating my body to science...fiction.



Nope, dh and i are donating for parts and research, and cremating whatever's leftover.

 

[FluffyColor]

Quote:
Newbie to BYC and a decidedly hilarious one!

 

[ChickenwecallDog]

I chose both for a few reasons....

1. I live in New Mexico but my family is on the East Coast in PA and NJ, so I'd like my kids and my hubby to be able to "take me home" cheaply and easily if we are still living in NM IE: Cremation.

2. If we are "Home" in PA I'd like to have a Traditional burial close to my Mom or Grandparents (My Grandparents are going with Cremation for the cost mainly and so they can be burried in the same spot.).

3. I work in a Funeral Home out here with the Natives and having learned some of their Traditions and reasons for not believing in Cremation have really picked my interest.

If for some reason cost plays a part in what my kids and Hubby choose for me I'm fine either way really. My preference would be a normal buriel but Cremation is much much cheeper.

 

[justbugged]

There is a group of people that live in the foothills of the Himalayans that have a village elder that breaks the body up on a special platform, and feeds the body to the vultures that live nearby. The thought is that the birds then fly you to the heavens. It is a rather practical way of disposing of the body, in a land that is for the most part solid rock.

 

[FluffyColor]

OKAY I made a decision.

I am not six anymore, I don't want to rot!

Cremation and then bury me near my father,mother and brother in the veteran cemetery I assume they'll conjure up by then!

 

[Royd]

Quote:
What have you got against stonecutters and inscribers, casket makers, gravediggers, morticians and grasscutters?

Isn't our economy bad enough, already?

 

[Beekissed]

Could that be because these individuals overcharge for their services? I mean...there isn't a box in the world worth $3000...I don't care what materials they use in them. Gravediggers? I can rent a backhoe and do it myself for half of what they charge. Morticians? That is a profession that hasn't changed much all these years and I can't imagine materials cost that much....they are among the richest people in our communities. I don't begrudge anyone making a profit but making a killin' (pun intended

) is just greedy.

 

[ChickenwecallDog]

Please don't take this as me getting angry at anyone's choices here. I completely agree with everyone whose ever had to deal with Funeral Directors who are only in it for the money...
While most Funeral Homes are definitely in the business purely for the money I have to say the company I work for is different than most. We work with the Tribes and barely break even each month in our particular office. I make $9.00 an hour yes but only work (if I'm lucky) 2 to 3 days a week. And any more most places require that you go through a Funeral Home in order to do any kind of burial or cremation, because once you are dead (sorry sounds bad) you are considered Biohazard according to OSHA.
As far as the Caskets go I have seen some handcrafted ones that are absolutely gorgeous! We have had Families make their own caskets and that's fine some of the gorgeous ones I mentioned were just that, made by the family of the deceased. Out on the Reservation most of the families do dig their own graves and on their own land which is acceptable in most rural areas, just not all areas unfortunately.
Most of our Funeral Directors are on a salary so no matter how many hours they work they get the same pay every 2 weeks, the ones that are not on a salary are working at least 10 hours of over time for free because with our economy today we have a "Over Time Ban" right now and are on a hiring freeze so most days short handed. If I remember right the top paid Director in our company is $11.00 an hour, 40 hours a week, PLUS his 10 hours O/T he/she can't even claim on the time card.
One of the things about my job I enjoy the most is the rewards of helping someone in their time of grief. Every Family we serve (granted not all Funeral Homes are this way and I am aware of that sad fact) is treated as if they were OUR family. Each set of Books and Folders is customized to their loved one, including customized pages for their pictures, obituaries, Family Records, Memorial Pages you name it.
Granted before I began working at this company I had some very very bad experiences with Funeral Homes and Directors who insist things have to be done their way or no way at all, which is why I think I appreciate this company so much. Our families dress how their loved ones the way they want them dressed even if its in old ratted, faded out overalls, or even buried with their favorite horse, chicken, dog, cat, cow, whatever (we buried an elderly man with his horse not to long ago). In our Chapel you don't see people in suits and ties, gowns and Shaw's. What you see is people just getting off work or home from school, or even just coming in from tending the family farm, red eyed, and broken hearted just looking for a shoulder to lean on missing "Shi'Masona", or "Shi' Che'" or "sissy", who ever it is, and just need a little sympathy, and that's my job....
I don't think I could have done my job before my father passed away 7 years ago. I had no-one to lean on, no sympathy, no nothing from his siblings. All I had was myself, and my current boss... They buried my Father and never even gave me the chance to get back home to say good bye. He was buried in a national cemetery in PA, while I was sitting in a court room with my now EX-Husband who decided that going to court over the kids going to their Grandfathers Funeral was more "FUN".
I remember that pain, and the suffering that went with it and now I am the one that's offering the comfort that my own family lacked on.

One thing I forgot to mention was that most of our buriels take place in less than 4 days, with the exception of investigations through the Office of the Medical Examiner, or the Criminal Investigators. In some cases those can take a week but not usually.

Sorry for that bit of a rant. I work in the Funeral Industry, and live paycheck to paycheck most of the time. We have a 3 bedroom single wide on an acre of land that we rent because we just can't afford to buy on the 2 incomes in the household (hubby drives a truck and makes almost double what I make), with 5 kids that we love and support in every way we can. Not all Funeral Personel is in it for the money some of us are only in it to be there for those that are left behind and still suffering from the loss. I hope I didn't offend anyone, I just wanted to show that not all companies are as bad as the majority.