Monday, June 25, 2007

Can't take it with you? Watch em' try!


You wouldn't believe the things that get buried with people. Over the past too many years I've come to the conclusion that the old adage about you not being able to take it with you doesn't aways apply. Some people are buried with the oddest things imaginable while others are buried with everyday household items. The following list is made up of just a few things I've seen go down with the ship.


Daddy ( who died of lung cancer ) never went anywhere without his "Dip". Surprising right?

There was the woman who was buried with a box of Tea Bags and a Tea Cup in her hand.

The grandmother who was buried with Fido's ashes at her feet.

There was the woman who's casket looked like a Christmas tree from all the flashing toys that were left inside.

The man who had photos literally covering all of him but his face.

There was the Teddy Bear so big that the casket had to be sealed in order to keep it closed.

How could I forget the gambling granny who was loaded down with rolls of quarters.

I understood his fishing rod but had to remove the plastic bag of bait.

There was the woman buried with her satchel full of makeup.

I'll never forget trying to get a folded up walker complete with tennis balls for feet in the casket.

Ever see someone laid out with a motorcycle helmet on? I have.

The drummer..........only had his sticks.

I can't tell you how many Bibles have gone down.

Ahhhhh, I can't leave out the woman and her Styrofoam wig stand.

Ever try lifting a casket complete with plumber and tools?

How about the lady who was buried with a bag of hair curlers.

These are just some of the things that I can recall off the top of my head. I know there are more but next to the ones I've mentioned above they seem almost typical. So, no, it's mostly true, you can't take it with you but I sure have met a bunch of people who have tried to sneak it through customs!

11 comments:

Mike Demastus said...

Having pastored quite a few funerals, I have seen quite a few strange things left as well. None tops the one family that wanted some "POT" seeds to be left int he casket in a little film cannister because that was his one true love...smoking pot. The cool thing was the director wouldn't allow it because pot is illegal. And knowing so many funeral directors myself...one thing I do know is that it seems really hard for most of them to ever stand up to families.

deathsweep said...

Mike, you're absolutely right about the difficulty of "standing up" to families. For some reason, many of us directors have it ingrained in our minds that we have to please no matter what. Only once did I actually show my authority (for lack of a better word) to a family member and he himself was shocked; as was I although it felt good!

DS

MedStudentWife said...

I think its a common thing in those who work in a service industry - helping others. We need to remember that sometimes the person we are helping needs a "reality check".

The more you do it, the better you get at appropriatness (spelling looks off), and being comfortable with doing it when it is necessary. It, at least in what I have done and do, is more necessary than I would have thought. But doing it with tact and diplomacy, while getting the message across, also breeds respect.

However, I do temper my comment in that I do not work in the same sort of industries either of you do - different ministries of a sort.

*lol* - I'm just in from work - how can you tell *sheesh*

:)

MedStudentWife said...

re: anonymous comment

Is that blog spam, or a legit. comment ?

deathsweep said...

Hi MSW!

I find that talking to myself in my head sort of calms me down so that the "funeral monster" doesn't actually show himself too often. I find that there are some people who just want to push and push just to see how far they can get. These are the ones that piss me off yet the more they bite at me the more I smile at them and seeing their frustration somewhat satisfies me for the moment. BTW -I think it's blog spam although I have had a current news widget attached to key words for some time so maybe that's the connection.

MedStudentWife said...

I totally hear you :)

I have a big stick I can lend you...

(its a mental stick).

I used to have a real faery wand that I used to wave at people & it worked. The group I have now just hasnt got that mind set *sigh*

great - another spam to look forward to :(

MedStudentWife said...

whats a "funeral monster" ?

deathsweep said...

Just something I thought of saying instead of "showing my ass" or perhaps "hauling off and beating the living shit out of someone"...Just a decent phrase...nothing like Nessie, I can assure you!

MedStudentWife said...

*lol*..... thought so

The Dude said...

great post... mind if i link to you?

deathsweep said...

Not at all Dude, link away. Part of telling thes stories is so they can be shared. Thanks for coming by!