“Back in my day…”
Gas cost $1.10!
Cassette tapes were the coolest things since sliced bread.
Shoot, I even remember MySpace dominating Facebook (all two minutes of it).
Back then, fads were fads. They came and went.
Some things stayed the course, however.
Tried and true. Traditional. Custom. Classic. Final.
When a death occurred, it was a foregone conclusion what was going to happen next.
The decedent was taken back to the funeral home, embalmed, and prepared for the nightly wake and vigil service that was held days after death.
The following morning brought one more mini-gathering at church before the Mass of Christian Burial Service.
Family and guests loaded themselves into their vehicles as they followed the hearse and funeral lead car to the cemetery.
Committal prayers were said by the Priest, presiding over the freshly dug grave.
The funeral director closed by thanking those in attendance and then inviting the remaining guests to join the family for continued fellowship back at the church for a meal.
This is how things have been in funeral service for a long time.
It wasn’t until the last ten years when things started to shift.
Traditional, in-ground, full-body burials were slowly being passed up by cremation.
You can still bury cremated remains, but that’s not the point.
The point is that cremation went from being a fad to a new tradition.
It’s less costly. It’s less harmful to the Earth. It’s easier to deal with.
At least, that’s what the general public thinks.
When someone is cremated, their body and muscles, and flesh and organs are burned to the point of non-existence.
The bones are all that remain. Even those become pulverized into ashes.
When I described the traditional ways (and fads) of old, you could almost time-warp back to your first cassette tape. Filling your gas tank with a $20 bill.
You also remember your first funeral. How seeing a family member, friend, or colleague made you feel.
You went through the motions, and emotions because it was real. It was final. You had to face your feelings and say goodbye to someone you loved.
Going the traditional route when it comes to funerals makes everything seem real because it is real.
This is the final time you will see someone, and get to say goodbye on your terms.
Cremation is final, too, don’t get me wrong; but sometimes family members, guests, friends, and colleagues are left wondering versus realizing.
Sometimes. Not always. Maybe. Maybe not.
And yes, I know that you can have the best of both worlds with a public viewing, followed by cremation.
You can also donate your body to science. Or the earth in the form of compost.
You can do a lot of things when you die. Sometimes, just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should.
What you can’t do, is turn back time. You can’t say goodbye to someone that isn’t there. You cannot un-cremate someone.
The disposition of a decedent can be many things, but the finality of feelings and life afterward, may not be.
Death is concrete. It’s over. There are no more comebacks, time warps, or fads.
It’s final.
Life, death, and everything in between.
Life, Death, and Everything in Between. 