Proper & nice the first one has its own ghost. Resurrection Mary
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"when a person is prepared to die for a cause, and indeed to glory in such a death, it impossible to supress him or the cause it represents." Jawaharlal Nehru
"Only the suppressed word is dangerous." Ludwig Borne
"All of our freedoms are a single bundle, all must be secure if any is to be preserved." Dwight David Eisenhower
"All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are both immortal and divine." Socrates
Proper & nice the first one has its own ghost. Resurrection Mary
Yeah, Resurrection Mary is the most popular ghost story in the Chicago area. She is reputed to haunt a three mile stretch of Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom in Willow Springs and Resurrection Cemetery in Justice.
This post has been edited by MDF3530 on 13-Apr-2004, 07:31 PM
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Mike F.
May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
When my Dad died he had made all the arrangements beforehand. All that my family had to do was take his clothes to the funeral home and write his obit out. When your overcome with grief you don't think correctly and you can end up owing the funeral home thousands of dollars. They are out to make what they can off of a family. Very wise to have a prearranged funeral.
It is nice when a family is buried in one cemetery. Peckery, listen to your heart! If my husband dies before me, I want him close by so I can visit him ever now and then.
When it comes time for me to make my journey, I will probably be put in the ground. I do not want anything fancy, No Head Stone, No Tomb, No Embalming. Just a Cedar Box with Acorns planted above me. For when the Acorns grow into Great White Oaks, the Deer and the other animals may feed upon the seeds that are produced.
But Peckery to answer your question. Only you can determine what is right for you.
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May your days be filled with Merriment and May you walk in Balance with Creator.
It's nice to think that you have some control over that last bit of your own history. In the "old days" they used to have family cemeteries and you could have the generations laid out in rows around you. It is a strangely reassuring feeling to be able to go to a your community cemetery, no matter what makes the community, and be able to visit your great grandparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parents. when i can , i take flowers from our garden, with a few ringers from the local florist, and pay my respects. they probably have no idea that i am there, of course; it is purely an emotional indulgence for the living. I have one aunt who isnt buried in the same place as the rest of the family, and it feels odd to have her seperated from the rest of them like that. Her choice, but again, it is mostly for the living.
I had a very evil thought at the cemetery last weekend. There were some pretty bellyflowers blooming in the far corner where great aunt olga is buried. How about getting some grass seed that has that kind of small low flowers that the lawn mowers can't mess up too bad, and sprinkle the seed all over my family plots only? I can see the amazed and awed faces of the visitors--"what a holy miracle! what a blessed family they must all be??!!"
yellow, white or purple flowers, Peckery??
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read--Groucho Marx
It is probably nice if there is a kind of family cemetry where all your forefathers and family have found their last rest. If you feel close to your kin you should think about being buried there one day as well!
Personally I don't want that anyone will have the duty to look after my grave one day. It's all set that I will be burnt and buried anonymously. You HAVE to bury the ashes in my country. Myself I don't feel any nearness standing at the grave of a beloved one. Maybe this is weird and maybe I am weird. But there is nothing left of the person, not for me. You know, I carry them in my heart forever. I honor them in lovingly thoughts. When I'm visiting my granny's grave I feel nothing. That's not granny. This place has nothing to do with her. She's not there. "Granny" is what she left for us; her kindness, her love, her strength, her laughter and sometimes the feeling of her being around me...
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"Now here's my secret", said the fox, "it is very simple. It is only with ones heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
("The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
"The soul would have no rainbow, if the eye had no tears." (Native American Proverb)
I like this question and I have had this discussion with friends and family before. I live in Ohio, but my family is all from Pennsylvania. There is a church cemetery where family have been buried for generations. Part of me wants that tie, to be in a beautiful place with 'kin'. But the practicality is that it is 4 hours away, my husband has no ties there. So, the next best thing would be the city cememtery, which has towering oaks and rampant rhododendrens and azelias all about. The bad thing is the cemetery is all but full. So, we have made no descisions.
My parents have plots in the PA cemetery, but have been questioning as well what to do. The church they go to has a cemetery and they are wondering if they should be the first to break with tradition and be buried out here. Afterall, they have lived here for the last almost 50 years and all their children and grandchildren are here. As far as I know, they have made no descisions as of yet.
For you, sockmonkeyman, as others have said, you will have to descide for yourself. I hear you saying you have no desire to return to LA. If that is the case, then perhaps you should strongly consider what is right for your family and not be held by a pact made by long gone ancestors.
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Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. - Frederick Buechner
If society prospers at the expense of the intangibles, how can it be called progress?
There has been too much fragmentation over the years for us to have a family plot (divorces, moving away, etc). So my bride and I have already included instructions in our Wills, as well as in our discussions with our kids, to be cremated.
My bride wants to be sprinkled across Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor, Maine (site of our honeymoon, and the first place in the US to see the sunrise). I haven't located a place yet, although going 'home' to Scotland does have an appeal.
birddog, you're describing http://www.lifegem.com/ . My bride has already stated that she wants me to 'hang around' after death as a diamond, and I told her that if she goes first then I'll consider my ONE AND ONLY body piercing to be of her as an earring. Instructions and contact information with LifeGem have been included in our Wills.
I'm not worried about death, and I've tried my best to instill the same feelings in my children. I could care less about a memorial, or grieving, or 'visiting me' - I want them to join me in Heaven later.
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Clan Mac Cullaich: - Brewed in Scotland - Bottled in Ulster - Uncorked in America
Hey, I have it all worked out. I do not believe in funerals as they are today. I'm going to be cremated, family and friends are to have a huge party and then sprinkle my ashes down the South Fork of the Snake River. I love to fish and that way I can go fishing for eternity. Simple.
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JaneyMae
Tangle Goblinwitch: She is only seen in the enchanted moment between sleep and waking
"Never miss a chance to shut up." Will Rogers
Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter. Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes... That's the Irish for You!
Hey, I have it all worked out. I do not believe in funerals as they are today. I'm going to be cremated, family and friends are to have a huge party and then sprinkle my ashes down the South Fork of the Snake River. I love to fish and that way I can go fishing for eternity. Simple.
That sounds a lot like MY plan. Great minds think alike!
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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." Carl Sagan
*runs away from this topic as fast as his steel toed boots can take him. muttering things like 'live forever' and 'imortal'*
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Caw
"I am a Canadian by birth, but I am a Highlander by blood and feel under an obligation to do all I can for the sake of the Highlanders and their literature.... I have never yet spoken a word of English to any of my children. They can speak as much English as they like to others, but when they talk to me they have to talk in Gaelic."
-Alexander Maclean Sinclair of Goshen (protector of Gaelic Culture)
Group: Celtic Nation
Posts: 265
Joined: 17-Jan-2004 Zodiac: Oak
Realm: Flushing Michigan USA
When I lost my wife in 1981 she was only 20 and I was just 21. Our daughter was only 3 1/2 months old and she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. My only thought was when my time came I wanted to be placed with my daughter's mother. I bought two plots in our local cemetery and the headstone has both of our names on it. I have since been in other relationships and even remarried briefly once, but after some of the things that have been done to me and my daughter, it's looking more and more like I will spend the rest of my time alone. I don't have the trust in people I used to have. Anyway, knowing that some things are in place that will make it easier for my daughter helps me. The only difficult part is going to the cemetery now and seeing my name already on a stone. It is definitely a reminder of my mortality. But I'm glad I did what I did and my daughter can see how much I loved her mother.
My husband and I discussed a long time ago that we both wanted to be cremated and our ashes spread out in the middle of the desert. Simple and less expensive.
My first choice was to be put out back in a Glad Bag. Wife said "NO".
Looks like Uncle Sam will take care of that for me. Plot in a veteran's cemetery near here, simple headstone, 21 rounds over my head. Maybe I'll drift low enough to the ceremony to hear "Taps".
And Peckery...you're a sock monkey! Don't you just get re-woven?