HW 52

In the third part of Mortician Diaries I read more stories some tragic, some humorous, some where I just thought damn, and various other reactions as well. But in every case it is sad which makes me think, if this funeral ceremony is what we do and its suppose to a celebration of life then why is it okay for people to be sad. I understand it but its just a question that crossed my mind. One story that I thought was particularly sad is the one called "The Parents Who Missed Rejected Their Son in Life Missed His Death." It is about two men who both had the AIDS virus. The one man Gary was rejected by his parents a long time before his death because he was gay. When the mother finally came to try and make things better it was too late. But his body was still around. By his wishes though he didn't want anybody to see him be cremated. Since his signature was on he page the mother could not even see her son before he was cremated. I think that this quote which is also the last line in the story sums it up perfectly. "Sometimes in life we learn things the hardest way."(pg.108) It just shows how one mistake can leave a scaring affect to you and the people around you. But this wasn't a celebration of life. It was just death. So all these emotions are kind of just what we make of it. Another quote that really stood out to me as ridiculous, rude, disrespectful, disgusting, and a load of other similar words was on the next page. An old woman wanted to bury a dress with her husband so that he could bring it to her mother who died in heaven. ""You won't believe this, John, but I am going to tell you anyway." As I finished the explanation, he started to laugh. His laughter rolled into a roar, and I worried about him keeping his standing balance."(pg. 109) When I read this I just thought, these are the kind of people who are going to be caring for my deceased family and friends in the future. People who laugh at a simple request that may seem a little weird behind their back. It truly isn't even that funny. It just makes me want to get a permit to make a graveyard somewhere in my backyard if I were to have one with a lot of room, ect. But there aren't only bad stories that make you hate these people. In the story "The Husband Who Finally Let His Wife's Life be Celebrated", it is about a woman who has been on life support and they finally took her off. She wasn't in any condition for an open casket. Her husband didn't know how he could live without her and thats why she has been on life support for so long. But he talked of her life and let her go. But he had his own ceremony with his native people. They celebrated till late at night and it sounded like a wonderful time. "Yes, there was crying, but there was also a tremendous expression of love as they embraced and talked about the life of the loved one they had lost." (Pg. 128) I just thought that, that line was very amazing and true from what I read about. What the ideal funeral should be like.