What was perfect and incredible was that my Dad chose not only his casket, but literally everything about his funeral a good 10 years (more like 13 or so) before his death. And chose his plot. I went with him, and afterwards, we went and had a deli lunch. Yes, it was a weird day, but I was soooo grateful knowing that he had chosen and did it his way. It was paid in full, as much as we could pay in full at the time.
There were two additional costs, but I was prepared for that - the funeral person who handled Dad's contracts had noted them in his paperwork, so I was aware of and prepared for the two additional expenses that couldn't be prepaid.
Could Dad have had it less expensively? Sure...but he got what he wanted, and as he said, "since I'm chosing it, I'll pay for it...and you won't have to worry about it that way, either".
I will say watching him "try on" caskets was a bit...well...bizarre. But if you knew my Dad, you'd understand that was actually quite normal for him.
He was a cool dude. I miss him.
My point is simply that if someone has already prepared their funeral and chosen their plot and casket, then who is anyone else to change that and do something else? If someone wants to be cremated (like my Mom), then that's what we'll do...and scatter her ashes as she asks us to.
I think a lot of things happen because folks don't talk about death, and so the survivors are not prepared for it; because of that, there is pressure to do it "right", whatever that means. That allows unscrupulous folks to take advantage of things, but I also believe that there are a lot of good folk in the death industry (for lack of a better word).
As for a more ecological manner of burial, I'd like to see those who can and want to be interred on family land in rural areas, be allowed to do so. Right now, I don't believe you can bury on private property without a permit. Now, I don't see this happening in Los Angeles, but say out on a 150 acre plot in say Iowa? Sure, why not?
It's what families did for centuries...I don't see why it should not be done now.
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