I was searching the internet for information about cremation, burial and alternative methods for the afterlife. At first when I read this article, I thought it was a joke, but a company called Holy Smoke will actually compact your loved ones ashes and create bullets for the surviving family members to use! The link is below.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2011/07/28/cremated-ashes-as-ammunition/

Bio-cremation

Just saw this on the local news earlier tonight and immediately thought it would fit in with this class.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44677738/ns/local_news-fort_myers_fl/

Supposedly it is suppose to use less energy and produce less emissions compared to traditional cremation methods.

Poems

Ever since I have been taking this class I have a more lighthearted attitude toward death and a greater understanding of it. It is a natural process and I have been more motivated to do greater things and accomplish new feats. I stumbled on these poems and thought they might be amusing to some of you.

www.funnypoets.com/poems_category/death.htm

If I Die Young

I'm sure many of you have heard the song "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry because it is a very popular one right now that is always playing on the radio. Well now every time I hear this song playing on the radio I think about all of our discussions in the Death and Dying class. Especially the discussions that have to do with Hospice care, and trying to help the people who are passing away complete any dreams that they might have left undone. It also makes me think about Proffesor Cox's stories on how she always tries to keep her life as full and complete as possible just in case anything is to ever happen to her. I found this article on line about the song and the meaning that it had to the band themselves.

http://http://kfrog.radio.com/2010/07/19/if-i-die-young-story-behind-the-lyrics/

Celebrity Death

I just want to share that I am sad about the death of Greg Giraldo. If you have watched a comedy central roast, you have probably seen his comedy. He was, in my opinion, one of the better comedians in recent years. He died at the young age of 44 due to an overdose of prescription drugs. The bottom line is that an increase in prescriptions given in general ultimately increases the chance of prescription drug abuse across the board.

Here are a few clips to remember Greg Giraldo who passed a year ago this month:

http://youtu.be/g6_wxr2_Oko

http://youtu.be/XenegIBwoHQ

Carpe Diem

I found these two things online, they are supposed to roughly measure your life expectancy. I thought it was an interesting way to put in perspective just how short life can be, and that we should live each moment to the fullest and "seize the day".

http://http://www.deathclock.com/

http://http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/how-long-will-you-live

-Alicia

Dia de los Muertos

Ever since we discussed death rituals in class, I decided to look further into Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos. I took Spanish in high school and my teacher was very enthusiastic about this holiday. We celebrated and had a party of our own in class and I thought some of you might enjoy reading more about it. I found the following website with fun facts and the history about Dia de los Muertos. Enjoy!

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html

-Priscilla

Designing Your Death Dossier

Prior to this class I wouldn't have thought twice when I stumbled-upon this website, but now I think it's something we all should think about to prepare & keep our documents organized.



The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die.

- S. Nester

Harry Potter

I realized today that I like to relate what we are doing in class with movies. My most recent movie equivalence, was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In this movie, there is a fable, about 3 wizards and their attmepts to avade death. I think, that even though this is an entirely fictional film, that myths and beliefs about death that are present in our society today, play out in this tale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-x9JvUE58k&feature=related

If you want to read it:

“There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across.. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure.

And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.


So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother.


Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.


And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.

Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death’s gifts. In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination.

The first brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible.

That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The theif took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother’s throat.

And so Death took the first brother for his own.

Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.

Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her.

And so Death took the second brother for his own.

But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life.”

Comment on Forrest Gump Post

It wouldn't let me add the comment so I am adding my comment as a new post..

I watched this movie one time in a history class because it depicts so many different parts of US History. I never thought of it as something that could be used to depict a subject in another class. I think this is a great example of what we have talked about so far. It also makes me think about further in the movie when Jenny passes away and how Forrest deals with her death.

Sophie

At the end of 7th grade my Dad's job relocated our family to a different state. Our new home would be in Tulsa, Oklahoma and lets just say we were not jumping for joy when we heard this news. All of our relatives live mostly in New Jersey and Florida so when our move arrived we felt so disconnected and realized we didn't really have anyone else but each other. We did however become close friends with one of my Dad's co-worker and his family who happened to live right next door to us in our new neighborhood.

Me, my mom and brother all have birthdays in January so our friends decided to surprise us with a present we would all love and never forget. They bought us a puppy who we named Sophie. She was a black lab with white paws and when we first got her she wore a red bow around her neck. She fit in perfectly with my family and we fell in love with her the second we saw her. Sophie was able to boost the spirits of our 13 year old dog that we currently had; we swear she added another year or two of happiness to her life.

A year later my family moved back to sunny Florida. When people would asked how we liked Oklahoma we'd joke and tell them "it wasn't as bad as you would think, we only moved out there to get our new puppy!".

Everyone in my family had a special bond with Sophie which is why it was so hard for us when we learned that at 5 years old she had developed a cancerous tumor. She struggled to fight it off for weeks but was not able to pull through this battle. My family and I are very close to each other but we believe she helped bring us closer. Losing her was one of the hardest things I've ever been through.

2 years later, thinking about Soph still makes me sad inside. But I'm reminded of all of our happy memories whenever I go back home to Fort Lauderdale because of a recent new addition to our family.

This summer my boyfriend and I rescued a 7 month old lab mix. Louie, too, is black with white paws and has an identical personality to our Sophie. My family jokes that he is Sophie reincarnated. Although Sophie was only able to enjoy a few years of her life, we have now been given the opportunity to raise another puppy so similar to her. She'll always be with us... now maybe more than we had thought ;)

Forest Gump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veEQWKsda88&feature=related

I was watching Forest Gump last night and during this scene I was thinking about everything that we have talked about thus far in class. Forests' mom is at peace with her dying. I believe that this is an example of a good death. Even though Forest doesn't really understand why she has to die now, she has the opportunity to teach him one last thing before she died. This is such a touching scene in the movie, and I am glad that I could better understand how she felt, because of what we had learned.

Personal Guardian Angels?

I’d like to pose a question to you. Now, this is obviously saying that your beliefs somewhat fall within this thought process as well.. Do you think that if there are really the spirits of those who have died still lingering around us, that they can choose whom they can be seen by?

My reasoning behind this question is through various instances within my life thus far. I’m going to share the few that really stick out to me & I would love to hear any responses that are similar in nature if there are any! I try to make them short & sweet.

When my grandmother (Nana), my mother’s mother, died we went up to Kentucky to attend the funeral with the rest of my family. One of my older sisters has 6 children. They all attended the funeral as well. Each one of her kids have a very different personality. Her second oldest son, Hunter, has a very recluse type of personality. He isn’t very shy, he just keeps to himself unless otherwise needed. He and I are actually quite similar in nature. The rest of them are very loud & outgoing. Well, my mother realized while the others were crying & very upset, Hunter seemed very calm and okay with the situation. Mom asked him if he was okay, if he was missing Nana. He replied, “Yes, of course I miss Nana but I know that she’s okay.” Mom was a little confused & asked how he knew. “She’s here with us.. She’s standing right over there..” Surprisingly it didn’t freak Mom out. She was kind of calmed by it. Mom and I talked a lot about this & we came to the conclusion that she chose Hunter out of everyone because he wouldn’t get scared, he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it & he would find the right way to let the family know she was okay.

When I was very young we lived in an old Civil War townhouse in a small town in Kentucky. Every so often when my mother would go to put me to sleep I would complain to her that I couldn’t sleep because of the music that was playing. My sister had already gone off to college so her room was unoccupied. There was still a bed, a dresser, and a stereo in there. Well, those nights when I complained about music, her stereo would be playing on it own. Mom and I were the only ones that could here it. They would even play music according to the Holidays. Apparently I was never frightened, but knew what was going on. I just wanted the music turned down so I could sleep. As I got older the music stopped. Sometimes I think that perhaps they knew it would scare me the older I got & more I learned. Who knows.

Okay, final example - For eight long months of my life I lived in Tucson, Arizona. One night Mom and I were driving home in our van. I remember it was a longer trip, we were at least 30-45mins away from home. Driving in front of us was a white beat up truck with tools & ladders in the back. Well one of the ladders came loose and flew directly at the windshield of our van. I mean this thing was within feet of our faces. I one slow motioned second I caught a glimpse of my Grandmother, my father’s mother who had died when I was 7, and then ladder was forced very quickly underneath the van as if it were pushed or slammed down. We ran over it instead. Mom & I thought were terrified. She didn’t want to stop in the middle of nowhere in the dark so we kept heading for home. About 30 mins later we pull into our driveway. We barely had enough time to close the car doors before the tire went flat. But we made it that far without it doing that?

Whether this is all just made up in my head or it’s real - I find comfort in believing we all have our own personal guardian angels protecting us in our daily lives.

Family Values

My family is just like yours- pretty average. We see eachother on major holidays and send eachother Birthday cards in the mail. Fortunately, everyone gets along (for the most part) and there has never been any serious disfunction. Up until last year, my family had never faced any serious trials or tribulations; and then within the course of one year, a trifecta of tragic events occured, starting with a car crash.

My cousin, Chris, was your typical 17 year old boy, living in Miami. He was into sports, cars, and women- always a bit of a trouble maker. I was at work when I got the news that there had been a horrible accident, and doctors were doubtful that he would survive. Chris was in the car with a few of his friends, vandilizing and being irresponsible as teenagers do. The instant moment that changed his life, he had his head out the window, when his head crashed into a cement mailbox at 40 mph. He lost about 40% of his brain mass and was in a coma for about half a year.

A few months later, I got a text from my mother saying that she had found a lump in her breast. I told her it was nothing to worry about, as she had found one in the past and it was benign. When the results came in, I was awoken by a call from my father around 8 am. I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach, as I prepared myself for the news I knew was about to come. I held her hand through every 4-hour session of chemotherapy, as there was nothing else I could do.

Midway through my mother's treatment, we got the news that my grandmother (my mom's mom) was found to have tumors. She too, went through extesive chemotherapy and radiation. After my mother completed her treatments and began her recovery, my grandmother was getting progressively worse. The tumors had spread to her pancreas and she was given months to live. Death is an interesting process when it takes toll on a person slowly. The last time I saw her she was frail, grey, and lifeless; as if she had already died and the only thing keeping her alive was a beating heart.

My Grandmother passed away this summer, leaving my Grandfather broken. My cousin is slowly making progress every day- he went from a complete vegitative state, to a wheelchair, to now walking with the assistance of a walker; and my mother is back to her normal health, and more alive than ever.

After that year, I have never looked at life or family the same way again. Life is a beautiful thing, but it is also very fragile. It is important to hold family close, because they are the only ones that are guarunteed to be a part of your life until the end. I am a beleiver in that everything happens for a reason, so although that year was extremely trying, I am glad that it happened. I think that I now have a much more positive outlook on life, and I now embrace each and every day in ways that I never did before. Never wait for the holidays or a birthday to celebrate, because every day is a special occasion!