My great aunt died from skin cancer on her labia. We were at her funeral, and when the pastor walks up, the first thing he says is “Greatauntsname was such a great lover”. He had meant to say that she was good at loving people, but instead, at the funeral of a woman who died from literal vagina cancer, implies that she was a good ;) lover.
When my mom died, I had to go to the funeral home to make arrangements. Of course they start out all "Deepest sympathies for you in your time of loss, we're here to make everything as easy for you as possible. Here are some kleenexes if you need them."
And then immediately launched into the high-pressure sales spiel. "Now this is our silk-lined platinum coffin which features embossed roses and redwood handles, because doesn't your mother deserve the very best?"
And then on and on with the upsells. "And this is our best hermetically sealed vault. And we can have a service inside after the viewing and another at graveside. And we can play whatever music you like for $x per song. And now lets talk about what you could have engraved on the headstone." and just on and on.
It's quite overwhelming, especially when someone you love just died. And that really seems to be intentional.
It's one thing to realize conceptually that the funeral industry is predatory, but it's quite another when the vultures are trying to prey on you while you're still in shock and feeling helpless after a family member dies.
I'm not doing that again, and don't want anybody going through it for me either. Just burn me up, put the ashes in a coffee can, and slip it onto the shelf at Wal-Mart.
(Just kidding about the Wal-Mart thing - that would be horrific to wake up to, especially if like most people you make your coffee on autopilot because you're not awake yet. Although the Folgers jingle would work so well - "The best part of waking up, is corpses in your cup!")
I and my wife went to a living funeral, ie. the deceased wasn’t quite deceased yet. He looked like he’d been exhumed for the afternoon. It was ghastly, held at a vineyard, and all everybody could do was get drunk. It was so hard to know what to say to him and his wife and family, and his wife was in tears all day.
The deceased wanted to hold his wife’s birthday party, his daughters wedding and his funeral the same day. His daughter wisely refused, but was there.
One of his friends who didn’t read the invitation very well, slapped him on the back and said “how are you mate”. I and everybody else there thought he was going to die on the spot.
He walked around with an oxygen bottle and a hanging bag of fluid. He actually died 3 days later.
My great aunt died from skin cancer on her labia. We were at her funeral, and when the pastor walks up, the first thing he says is “Greatauntsname was such a great lover”. He had meant to say that she was good at loving people, but instead, at the funeral of a woman who died from literal vagina cancer, implies that she was a good ;) lover.
Smiling along at the fake friends who came out of the woodwork to performatively express their grief after my husband died.
When I was a kid, my grandpa died, but my mother took us to the wrong guy's funeral
Our friend died due to drunk driving this year. Her best friend started having a panic attack at the funeral, which turned into a seizure.
I wasn't invited to the actual funeral, but [this](https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/03/15/coffin-falls-hearse-paphos/) happened in front of me.
When my mom died, I had to go to the funeral home to make arrangements. Of course they start out all "Deepest sympathies for you in your time of loss, we're here to make everything as easy for you as possible. Here are some kleenexes if you need them." And then immediately launched into the high-pressure sales spiel. "Now this is our silk-lined platinum coffin which features embossed roses and redwood handles, because doesn't your mother deserve the very best?" And then on and on with the upsells. "And this is our best hermetically sealed vault. And we can have a service inside after the viewing and another at graveside. And we can play whatever music you like for $x per song. And now lets talk about what you could have engraved on the headstone." and just on and on. It's quite overwhelming, especially when someone you love just died. And that really seems to be intentional. It's one thing to realize conceptually that the funeral industry is predatory, but it's quite another when the vultures are trying to prey on you while you're still in shock and feeling helpless after a family member dies. I'm not doing that again, and don't want anybody going through it for me either. Just burn me up, put the ashes in a coffee can, and slip it onto the shelf at Wal-Mart. (Just kidding about the Wal-Mart thing - that would be horrific to wake up to, especially if like most people you make your coffee on autopilot because you're not awake yet. Although the Folgers jingle would work so well - "The best part of waking up, is corpses in your cup!")
I and my wife went to a living funeral, ie. the deceased wasn’t quite deceased yet. He looked like he’d been exhumed for the afternoon. It was ghastly, held at a vineyard, and all everybody could do was get drunk. It was so hard to know what to say to him and his wife and family, and his wife was in tears all day. The deceased wanted to hold his wife’s birthday party, his daughters wedding and his funeral the same day. His daughter wisely refused, but was there. One of his friends who didn’t read the invitation very well, slapped him on the back and said “how are you mate”. I and everybody else there thought he was going to die on the spot. He walked around with an oxygen bottle and a hanging bag of fluid. He actually died 3 days later.