Those wacky Victorians!

[Andybev01]

... when it's far less expensive to make your own.

[Spookymufu]

you know Mac, (I believe it was you) who recommended "stiff" and I have just started reading that one....

[ilovemichaelmyers]

AAAACCCCKKKKK!!!! That is creepy. My Mom sent me a big huge box of photos about 12 years ago, I was looking thru them all and got to some pics on the bottom and they were of my grandmother (who died before I was born) in her coffin, I was overwhelmed by the sight that I just put them in a seperate book and still have them there, I will never open it. She looked beautiful and serene but just too much for me. I don't handle death well at all.

[Andybev01]

Death has become very taboo in our culture.

Almost everyone officially 'dies' in hospitals, and we have viewings in funeral homes.

There is a revival (no pun) around here for in home wakes

[MacPhantom]

you know Mac, (I believe it was you) who recommended "stiff" and I have just started reading that one....

What do you think of it so far?


Death is taboo because it's scary, it's inevitable, it's controversial, and thinking about it too much can spoil anyone's day. But it's also fascinating, like all the best taboos.

[Andybev01]

The inescapable end is comforting to me. All of the trials and tribulations that we put ourselves through pursuing small green pieces of paper seem kind of meaningless knowing that we all end up in the same condition .

At most you get a better casket and headstone, possibly sooner if your family really takes the pursuit of 'wealth' seriously.

[Spookymufu]

you know Mac, (I believe it was you) who recommended "stiff" and I have just started reading that one....

What do you think of it so far?

I'm only a few pages into the "forward"....so I dont really know yet (I'm a slow reader)

[MacPhantom]

Let me know when you get a ways in, Spooky. Especially the chapter on the body farm...

I don't care about money at all, Andy. It's the stuff you can buy with money that I'm interested in.

[Andybev01]

I like stuff too, but death gives me perspective.

[MacPhantom]

Me as well. It gives me the perspective to see the stuff I want more clearly, and know I need to get it quicker.

[Andybev01]

Hmm. ..are you joining Spooky near center

[MacPhantom]

Not really. I'm materialistic, but I won't step on other people just to get the things I want.

Maybe gently nudge them out of the way sometimes.....

[Spookymufu]

yup, I think Mac and I are going to meet in the middle....

[MacPhantom]

At its core, the country isn't nearly as polarized as the news media or our most prominent political figures would have us believe. But it's in their best interests to see us misinformed, angry, and set against each other, turning tiny differences into gaping fissures, so that we will be less likely to notice that the richest and most powerful will always stay that way, leaving everyone else struggling just to stay afloat. Most people are too busy trying to live their lives, provide for their families, and find a little bit of happiness, to pay attention to what the power brokers are up to. Highlighting points of contention is a low information, high return game.

[Andybev01]

yup, I think Mac and I are going to meet in the middle....

I'm curious to see what happens when matter meets anti-matter.

Mac; I agree about the games played by those in 'power'. If I may quote a refrigerator magnet "The most important things in life aren't things."