airdvr 210 #1 January 30, 2010 In the process of attending a series of events this weekend for Roxanne's mom who died Thursday night and it's interesting to observe people at these gatherings. I'm afforded a more detached view of things. People walk in with the obligatory long face...get in line to give their condolences and view the body. The cliche's are flowing and sometimes I have to catch myself to keep from laughing out loud. "She was a wonderful lady" Right...she was a PITA "You just never know" Funny to see people have this flash of realization we've known forever. Of course they'll probably just go back to the way things were. We knew....that her liver was loaded with cancer and she didn't survive the operation to remove the huge tumor in her colon. had she survived she would have had 6 months at best. "It was a blessing in disguise" It sure was if you were the poor SOB who was going to have to take care of her. "She looks good" Fuck that...she looks dead. "I was shocked" "We're gonna miss her" All the while you can see the old folks staring at their own mortality. Gotta be scary for them. Once people have done the line thing they notice there are people around they haven't seen in forever and their mood lifts a bit. Every once in awhile they'll laugh out loud only to realize that it's a funeral and they shouldn't be doing that. Rox and I have talked about this. Neither of us wants to be displayed looking like some macabre wax figure while either one of us has to stand for hours greeting people. We want people to have fun. Celebrate our lives, don't get all upset because we left and you're still here. There should definitely be alcohol involved...maybe a band. Just a few random thoughts...Please don't dent the planet. Destinations by Roxanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteS 0 #2 January 30, 2010 My Wife knows that my best friend gets his choice of my gear, sell the rest and have a party. Oh, and there is that one last hike up Half Dome... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johndh1 0 #3 January 30, 2010 I'm all for cremation. I see no sense in taking up more space once one is no longer breathing. I also don't think you should feel guilty for your cynicism regarding trite words spoken at the memorial. I've said for a while I thought it would be hilarious to have the ashes baked into cupcakes and handed out to a few key people who find at the bottom of the little wrapper the words "EAT ME."Roll Tide Roll Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #4 January 30, 2010 I'll take a biker Funeral any day,(party) Or simply scatter my ashes , then Party... Do the burying, then have a beer,over the grave...talk like friends (somehow these got reversed,but you get the idea, that is me with the broken leg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/onekick/funeralApes.jpg Or ash Dive, (For Cluad the loader at Perris) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/onekick/ashdive1.jpg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutumbo 0 #5 January 30, 2010 Yeah i wat a keg at my funeral full of guinness. Instead of an ash dive just fly my ass up to 15k and throw me into the ocean with a few cinderblocks tied to my feet. That way i get to see the two things i love just one last time, the sky and the bottom of the ocean. And at my viewing i wanna be face down, so tha all the people in the world who never liled me can kiss my pale white ass. Thanatos340(on landing rounds)-- Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #6 January 30, 2010 Quote And at my viewing i wanna be face down, so tha all the people in the world who never liled me can kiss my pale white ass. And I'll have a place to park my bike.Hey, I like that cinder block idea. Cremating is what I want, but that's not to Green either. Maybe go for old fashioned composting. I hope I live long enough that it's not a big surprise when I go. At my service, I want a lot of beer, a lot of music, and a lot of good stories going around. Save the preaching and organ music for someone else. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #7 January 30, 2010 Quote "We're gonna miss her" I know what you're saying here, but as jumpers, we've all been to too many services where we were saying this for real. There are a lot of people I really do miss. Quote Once people have done the line thing they notice there are people around they haven't seen in forever and their mood lifts a bit. I was shocked one day to see the obit in our local paper of a long lost high school buddy of my who had passed away from M.S. We had been really tight back in the day, but I hadn't seen him in over 20 years. He had recently moved to Washington from Utah just as I had long before. I never knew he was living only 30 minutes away or was dying. In shock, I showed up at the viewing that evening. I almost felt bad when I received the warm, cheerful greetings from his parents and siblings. I guess his long illness had helped them accept his passing, but I was still in disbelief. I had a hard time finding a smile that night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #8 January 30, 2010 I remember after the crash of Poppa Victor at Perris, we literally became Numb, by the last funerals..We were all literally worn out from grieving.... Sick jokes and laughter was the only thing left to keep our sanity! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #9 January 30, 2010 Anyone know a ventriloquist? Have a puppet show. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocheese 0 #10 January 30, 2010 Or a weekend at Bernies. Think anyone would notice? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #11 January 30, 2010 Quote Or a weekend at Bernies. Think anyone would notice? Depends on the person, I have known a few, that coudl be dead for a week , and nobody woudl notice till the smell really kicked in! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #12 January 31, 2010 This evening was the worst. Creepy organ music playing...2 different preachers...glad that's over.Please don't dent the planet. Destinations by Roxanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #13 January 31, 2010 I get what you're saying, but all the same, you gotta ease up on people when someone dies. EVERYBODY is out of their element in that situation. Nobody knows the "right" thing to say. Yeah, so some people are going to say some trite cliches or whatever. They are uneasy and just don't know what else to do. Just ease up & don't be so critical at a time like that. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #14 January 31, 2010 I laugh at what the juxtaposition would be for a whole group of motors escorting the hurst to the DZ for an ash dive would be like...I just hope a the party is really epic.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #15 January 31, 2010 Quote I laugh at what the juxtaposition would be for a whole group of motors escorting the hurst to the DZ for an ash dive would be like...I just hope a the party is really epic. You don't wanna take one last ride on a hog? Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #16 January 31, 2010 I'd much rather have one last skydive. And I would much rather my friends have a really good party!I'm planning on that happening about 60 years from now. --"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #17 January 31, 2010 I'm thinking a nice Viking funeral. Go out in a blaze of glory. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #18 January 31, 2010 Quote Quote Cremating is what I want, but that's not to Green either. Maybe go for old fashioned composting. I was watching a program a few years ago that focused on the science of figuring out how long a body's been dead for, the exact name eludes me. Basically, they have this wooded area by a training center that's full of dead bodies in various states of decay. You can volunteer your body to science if you want to... Damned if I'm going to though. Just burn my ass up and let my close friends give me one last hurrah, and drink themselves silly that night. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #19 January 31, 2010 Quotethey have this wooded area by a training center that's full of dead bodies in various states of decay. You can volunteer your body to science if you want to... There are about a dozen of those around the country. I saw photos of one recently that had a body that had been through an autopsy and placed out there. A bobcat had gotten through the chicken wire "cage" and made a nest out of the chest cavity of the body. It was really interesting. Those body farms are a huge benefit to the CSI crowd. Its not as "whiz-bang" as the TV makes it look. Research like that is necessary for advancement of the science.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutumbo 0 #20 January 31, 2010 wHOA WHOA WHOA back that train up a bit. So you mean tc lied to me?! Im shocked! but yeah alot of the forensic schools have 'body farms' for students to practice with and learn from. Since i dont think it would be a good idea for the first time a scientist ever had to truly process a body was at an actual crime scene. Thanatos340(on landing rounds)-- Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johndh1 0 #21 January 31, 2010 Billy, There's one of those up around Nashville I think, and (IIRC) it was the location of a Patricia Cornwell book several years ago, Body Farm. As for Grimmie's Viking funeral, I've always thought that was cool myself.Roll Tide Roll Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #22 January 31, 2010 Quote Quote I laugh at what the juxtaposition would be for a whole group of motors escorting the hurst to the DZ for an ash dive would be like...I just hope a the party is really epic. You don't wanna take one last ride on a hog? I was referring to riding to the dz for your ash dive in a hearse. Ride bitch on a hog instead. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy0689 0 #23 February 1, 2010 QuoteI get what you're saying, but all the same, you gotta ease up on people when someone dies. EVERYBODY is out of their element in that situation. Nobody knows the "right" thing to say. Yeah, so some people are going to say some trite cliches or whatever. They are uneasy and just don't know what else to do. Just ease up & don't be so critical at a time like that. People do strange shit at wakes. When my dad died, my aunt, his sister, was snapping pictures away of my dad like it was a reunion. I thought it was really strange and joked to myself that I hoped she didn't start gathering everyone around the coffin for group shots. "OK, now just the nieces and nephews..." A year or so later I was visiting them in Chicago and saw the pics in a photo album that my mom and I were flipping through. That brought it to a higher level of strange. But, I guessed it made her feel better so nothing was said.Andy I'll believe it when I see it on YouTube! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #24 February 1, 2010 I mentioned to my ex that I wanted to be cremated and then have a big party. She said that's what she had planned... ...and told me the date. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #25 February 1, 2010 Quote ...and told me the date. Sounds fun. We'll be there.Be afraid, be very afraid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
