Re: State funerals...question
 

My boyfriend and I were wondering the same thing...if it was in there can you imagine the state it is in! Going from hot to cold over and over....ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I dont think its disrespectful to discuss. (We need to get off that damn American cultural thing of not dealing with/or discussing death. Its not healthy. Its stupid and backward (not you - the cultural norm.))

As I understand it, modern embalming technology is such that you could have any properly embalmed body in your living room for weeks and not smell anything untward.

Things are sewed or glued shut. What isnt sewed shut is stuffed with gauze and cotton.

However modern burial isnt that good of a thing. The whole air tight and sealing of the casket dosent allow for a body to dry out naturally, instead, anerobic bacteria are involved and it gets to be a slimy mess down the road.

Reason #2313 why I want to be cremated.

Me too. Is it bad that I've already picked out the spot where I want my ashes scattered?

Nope. So have I. And my family knows exactly where. I have planned out my ceremony. Its my funeral and want it done my way. I have a $20,000 life insurance ploicy and I want them to spend $8 - 10K on the funeral (thats cheap, BTW), throw a big ass party/wake with open bar and a catered dinner for my friends and family. and then for my family to take a trip on whats left over. (of course thats if I was to die in my 20's or 30's - I'm sure I will change it every decade or so)

BTW: I want them to play Sarah McLachlan's "I will remember you". They did at JFK Jr's and I think its cool.


I think I am gonna open another thread on this. I'm interested in hearing what others would want.

Another thought
 

Do ya'll think the reason some of us are so into the pagentry and ceremony and ritual of a state funeral is that:

1) Since were a relatively young country and we have few ceremonies and the main thing that unites us as a county is non of us are from here and we dont have a lot in common so its rare that we do stuff like this? And...

2) As greeks we are all about the symbolism and pagentry and its kinda cool to see it on a national level - ya know, the whole country doing it?

one has to wonder how much it cost and who paid for it...

I heard that the state funeral for President Reagan cost around $114 million dollars and that the gov't spends it as a honor to a past president

The actual cost for a state funeral really isn't that much; if you factor in the paid day off for the government on Friday's day of mourning that's where that figure comes in.

While a past President is entitled to a state funeral, it is entirely at his option whether he wants the full pomp and ceremony. When Nixon died in 1994, he requested no state funeral, just a simple ceremony at the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, California.

Thanks for addressing my question. I didn't think there would be a problem with smelling since the body in embalmed.

I was wondering how much this funeral cost. Well not really the funeral, but the paid day off for gov't workers. I think that it is fine to do all of this for a past president as he has earned it, but darn if that is not a lot of $!

Andy, I like your plan for your funeral.

I visited the cathedral when I was in DC in December. It is so beautiful and huge. If you get a chance, go visit it. :)