Home burial and self-made pine boxes a new trend:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21funeral.html?hp
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Replies
Interesting idea, but don't many places have laws that pretty much preclude anything other than funeral-home services and caskets?
I'm sure there are laws about what you can bury where, but I don't know how much variation there is among states.
That's what the funeral home tells you because it stands to lose a good deal of profit if you buy somewhere else. Same way that many tell you that every body must be embalmed before burial - not true in any state, it's just a big money maker for the business. I just went to a wake in upstate NY where the deceased was not embalmed. Open casket. It was really a whole lot less fun than those things usually are.
But, I really don't know of any states that prevent you from buying from a reputable 3rd party supplier and having it delivered to the funeral home - might take an extra day or two so you get charged for storage of the remains while you wait. Maybe there's one but a quick call to the State's Consumer Protection Office or the State's Attorney General's office should tell you for sure.
Don't know about using your own self-built coffin. I imagine building your own might take a bit of time after you died, no?
Here's 2 links of 3rd party suppliers if anyone's interested:
http://www.americancasketstore.com/
http://www.trappistcaskets.com/
I haven't had occasion to use either of them. Yet. A woodworker might appreciate the Trappists' work though.Griff
Another option:
http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=search=casket&N=0Ntt=casket&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-USSome cemeteries have a requirement for a vault (a concrete box into which the casket is placed). I saw a cemetery once in Ontario where this was not the case and there was a lot of severe potholing as the caskets decomposed and collapsed.My dad used to be a cemetery sexton and my brother worked for him a couple of summers. There is a family story about how my brother was in the hole while my dad was running the backhoe. Apparently, the grave next door was not vaulted and parts started falling where my brother was. He scrambled to get out and my dad decided to cover the open grave with a tarp and go for a break.
I'll bet your brother had some unpleasant memories resulting from that episode. Maybe even a nightmare or two?Griff
Lee Valley sells hardware for caskets: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/Search.aspx?c=1&action=nRegards,Ron
I have often told my wife that I am going to make my own casket. However, I don't think she would want to bury me in the backyard.
I think if I don't get this floor done by tomorrow I will need to start looking for some pine...
Marc
NB,
There was a thread or two on this subject previously:
http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=30698.2
Lataxe, still not composted.
Rockler has had plans for one for many years..
http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=1480
I have told my children when I die burn me and throw the ashes in the trash.. No funeral or wake for me.. I served my time in hell since your mother died...
They just look at me really strange.. I am serious... So I put in my will to the lawyers objections...
I have lived along time. A very good life with wonderful children and all my grandbabies are very special to me also...
I am not afraid of death.. I just hope it is quick!
Morbid? Not so in my mind.. We all die sometime... Why spend money for a casket, grave and head stone? All that matter I lived with and loved very much.
I never knew/saw my father and his body was never found with nine? other crew members on the WWII bomber. I remember him and I love him just the same..
And now I though while typing this.. I have to think where all my tools go. None of my kin are into woodworking?
Sort of just the way I think.. I hope I live a bit longer...
I put aside several grand for a big party at my favorite local restaurant that serves good German food and warm beer. Cold beer cost extra! LOL..
My will states anyone that asks for cold beer has to tip the waitress 5 dollars..
My father and his father were from Germany and fought in WWI and WWII on our side. NO... I do not hate German people.. I am one.. Just the other side..
Edited 7/21/2009 10:02 pm by WillGeorge
Will. After dealing with with to many funerals over the last while, I signed a living will and wrote "no funeral service". Burn me and have a wake. I am gong to build my own Urn. When I find the Right piece of wood to lay beside.I'm just finishing an urn for a friend. He said they wanted $400 for carp ply wood box.He got Red Alder box, fiqured mahogany lid, no charge as it is for his Mom.Now that I'm typing. It would be neat if I got a chunk of wood from Marcoue. Holtey, Lataxe, Bob. Derek. A timeless space to argue which is better. But no one would hear!!!!What do you guys think? send me a piece of wood and I will make ####leather lined, velvet topped box, to die for ( later not sooner ).
Will. After dealing with with to many funerals over the last while.
I would bet three!
But no one would hear!!!! I hear what I want I want to listen to...
I'm just finishing an urn for a friend. He said they wanted $400 for carp ply wood box
And I would say why not make the crap ply wood box he wanted?
It was his wish and sure he a bit pissed at you for making it a bit better..
And I bet he still has a good friend!
Edited 7/21/2009 10:18 pm by WillGeorge
A friend of mine made a box to hold another friend's ashes. What wood did he use? Ash, of course!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
What wood did he use? Ash, of course! LOL..
Put and still have my 1st dog's (ashes) in cedar with brass
"What wood did he use? Ash, of course!"Oooo. Does that qualify as a "bare bones" pun? ;-)I helped a friend build a box for his father's ashes. He chose mahogany, however.
Shoe,
You'd never get any rest with that Motley bunch sharing a part of your Urn. At least you wouldn't have a problem with Customs. Last time I was home I noticed that the laws have gotten very lax. It looked like they'll let anything into the country.
Now if you had to bring that group into the States, Homeland Security would have a stroke. Your remains would be tied up till eternity waiting on Clarence to enter the port of entry.
Taigert
I now live a couple of miles from the Funeral capitol of the world. Batesville Indiana the home of Hilldebrand. They are the largest casket company there is. MJ's $25,000 gold plated casket was made there. They make all the metal caskets here and all their wood boxes are made in Mississippi.
Plus they own American Tourister Luggage. And best of all Hill-ROM! Next time your in any kind of a hospital chances are the beds are all Hill-Rom. Plus Hill-Rom makes the equipment at the head of the bed on the wall. They are into all the county morgues as well. There is just no way your going to get through live or death without them in your pocket book. Just driving around Batesville you realize how big their Empire is.
Shoe,
Egads I don't recall being mentioned in such lofty company. Got a big heed now!
OK, back to earth. You'll havta email me your address and promise not to make anything that looks like a fish.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I had a great aunt that was quite evil, my dad put her ashes in the cats litter box.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
pay backs a ******** isn't it?
They say be nice to your kids, their the ones that will be picking out the Nursing home you'll be going to.
Taigert
my dad put her ashes in the cats litter box. LOL...
OK if my children do the same with my ashes... I have had several cats that I loved..
To bad they do not live that long... Cats are like me. Food and drink and leave me alone while sleeping on the window sill..
Will
Why do you sleep on the window sill? :-)
We buried my Dad last January and my Mom 14 years ago, both in coffins I and my brothers and sister made. I haven't started on mine yet and hope I have a few years before the project needs to be finished. Building the coffins for my parents was a very cathartic process that brought all of us together in a common task and helped us all in a small way to understand and process the whole deal.
They are buried in the town cemetery in Wayland, Mass. Although the funeral home wished we had bought one of theirs and were a bit reluctant to use the coffins from a liability standpoint (no one wants to be sued by bereaved relatives when mom falls through the bottom of the casket), they did use the coffins. Similarly, we did not run into regulation problems with the cemetery. The coffins were put in concrete vaults (or whatever) for reasons discussed elsewhere in this thread. The vaults defined the maximum exterior dimensions and standard coffin dimensions are available through a quick google search. There is also a book available via amazon called "Build your own coffin" or something like that.
For those of you comtemplating building your own, I hope you are cursed to store it for a very long time!
Randy
Now that's funny!
Don,
Are you really the DJ on the Swiffer commercial?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Don't follow you on that one Bob.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
"I had a great aunt that was quite evil, my dad put her ashes in the cats litter box."
Didn't make a rock song about that.....
The first time that I got it I was just ten years old I got it from some kitty next foor I went and see the Dr. and He gave me the cure I think I got it some more They give me cat scratch fever Cat scratch fever
It's nothin dangerous I feel no pain I've got to ch-ch-change You know you got it when you're going insane It makes a grown man cryin' cryin'
<!----><!----><!---->
-----------_o
---------_'-,>
-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
Well this thread has morphed and some good laughs. Aunt Kittey litter, I hear you.My Mom donated her body to science at the University of Saskatchewan. Old Nurse yea know. They were very respectful and gave us notice after about 2 years that they would cremate her and the ashes would be courierd to us. I made a real nice Oak box with all the kids and grandkids names were on it and some other words of love.We buried her with Dad in this small country grave yard. Well have you seen to 200 LB men being spun around a powererd auger trying to dig a hole. Were was the video camera when you need it. Well pick and shovel and a few hours we got down 3 feet.I can't belive these people broke this soil with Ox and a plow. Gives you a whole appreciation for the "Sod Busters".
Tiagert I avoid the 49th like a plague now. If I want my sphincter explored it will be my family doc.
n,
Building your own coffin can cause small problems, but they are solvable with a little ingenuity. For example, you might not die for weeks after your make the casket, so where do you store it? Many don't have the space for a casket.
So, why not make the casket in the shape of a coffee table or a bookshelf. That way it can be actually useful until the time when you have a greater need for it.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Maybe a liquor cabinet. Bury me with a dram of single malt.
Mel,But where do you put the books when you need the casket?Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
"But where do you put the books when you need the casket?"Actually at that point, you'd be dead, and dead people don't need anything. At that point it wouldn't make any difference to you where the books went or if they went. But it might to your family. I am thinking that for a woodworker, a bookcase doesn't make sense, but a tool cabinet that is about 3' wide, 6.5' long and 2' high might be a great idea. The shelves and drawers are easily removable, and a nice silk lining is applied prior to its second use. Well, maybe silk is too frilly for a woodworker, so cotton would be good. Maybe I will make mine larger than that. I am thinking of taking some of my tools with me. A few of my handplanes cost a bit over $200 each, and that is just too much to just give them to someone else. Also, since Lee Valley stopped selling their beautiful striking knife when I wanted one, I settled on the extraordinarily expensive Blue Spruce. But the idea of having them in my casket introduces some problems. I am not worried about rust. We know how to take care of that (cosmolene). Grave robbers! That would become a real thing if woodworkers started having their tools buried with them. Of course, in Canada, you wouldn't have to worry about that. The ground is too frozen to allow digging most of the year. Oh well, maybe I will just donate my tools to the Society of Indigent Woodworkers, which is getting larger all the time as the economy stays in the doldrums. Say, did you hear what happened to Christopher Schwartz? He keeps a single copy in his office of everything he has ever written. But yesterday, the weight was so great that the foundation of the building collapsed. They say that the crack in the Earth that resulted is now similar to the San Andreas fault. I hope he was out of the office at the time. Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Is it true that you have started writing for Letterman?
-Jerry
<gr>
Jerry,
Thanks for the compliment. You hit very close to home. I think if I could have been anything I wanted to, I would have wanted to be a writer for Johnny Carson. I am a closet humor-ist. I would rather think up the joke than actually be the one who mouths the words. The humor is merely a way of seeking deeper truths. If you listen to Letterman or Bill Maher or any of them, you easily see that "where there is smoke, there is fire". They don't joke about people who aren't susceptible to joking. In the days of Chivalry, only the jester could say the truth to the king, but he had to surround his truth with humor. Stephen Colbert is one of my favories. Jay Leno ain't so bad either. None of them is "mean". All are very intelligent, and insightful and clever. These are all traits that I would aspire to. Of course, God was more generous with them than with me. She told them to go to TV and me to go to Knots. I "scanned" Christopher Shwartz's Blog yesterday. GOD, IT IS LOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG. If he typed all day and night, he couldn't have written that much and still gotten any sleep. Certainly he couldn't possibly have any time to do any woodworking. Also, he would have to have been typing 24 hours a day, with no time to do any research on the topics he is blogging about. Of course, I have often thought the same thing about Derek, but even Derek is less prolific than Christopher. SO what do I conclude from my scanning of Schwartz' blog. I believe that he is a Catholic who made a deal with the Holy Spirit -- He would quit woodworking and devote his life to writing if only the Holy Spirit would deliver the research free of charge. Of course, I have to write to Christopher to ask if he gets any free tools for his writeups. He seems quite positive all the time. I noticed he was even positive on the new planes from Stanley. In order to do that, you would have to be able to say "Death Valley is cold at Noon in July" with a straight face. I believe that Christopher does all of this without taking free tools for nice reviews. He has gotten something far more important than free tools. He has become a "Living Oracle of Woodworking". He has proven once and for all that you don't have to be a woodworker to be considered an Oracle by woodworkers, you just have to write a lot and write positively and write well. Someday I may write a book on the modern history of woodworkers: "How we became a nation of sheep". It will chronical the coming of age of the "Living Oracles of Woodorking", that is, people who once were furniture makers, but who left the honorable profession altogether because Oracles get paid more, and more consistently. Stop and think of how long the list is getting of good woodworkers who got out of the furniture business and have started wearing funny hats, shirts, and giving themselves names like the "The Wood Whisperer". Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hi Mel,
This will start the discussion that gets this thread sent to the cafe, or closed by a gavel, but, whatever.
You wrote: "If you listen to Letterman or Bill Maher or any of them, you easily see that "where there is smoke, there is fire". They don't joke about people who aren't susceptible to joking. In the days of Chivalry, only the jester could say the truth to the king, but he had to surround his truth with humor. Stephen Colbert is one of my favories. Jay Leno ain't so bad either. None of them is "mean". ."
Perhaps you aren't familiar with the brou-ha-ha that resulted from Letterman's joke about Sarah Palin's daughter getting "knocked up by A-Rod in the 7th inning" while the Palins were in NYC? Now, she did have a child out of wedlock, so I guess you could say the young lady was "susceptible". However, I believe that it was mean spirited, and aimed not to "speak the truth" (actually the daughter who had had the baby wasn't at the ball game, her 13 yr old sister was), but to get a cheap laugh, and to hurt the girl's parents, and to demean the young woman.
Sarah Palin chose to be in the public sphere when she ran for election, and as such, she is fair game (and a large target) for any pundit or comedian who wants to take a shot, cheap or otherwise, at her. Her children did not so choose, and like Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, or the Bush and Obama daughters, ought not to be dragged into the cesspool that American politics has become.
Back to your normal programming,
Ray
Ray,Sarah WHO? :-)MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
;-)
Ray
Ray,
A thoughtful post, and not at all unusual for a gentleman from Virginia. Our brother, Mel, lives in Northern Virginia.... <gr>!
A pleasant evening to you, sir.
-Jerry
Jerry,
You are too kind-to me and Mel.
Let's call it like it is-- Mel's a transplanted Yankee.
But, bless his heart, he can't help that.
Ray
Jerry,
I may be a transplanted Yankee, but I lived in Dothan, Alabama for a while. I think that qualifies me as a pure blooded Southerner. I remember a great old quip.
Do you know the difference between a Northern girl and a Southern girl?When you tell a Northern girl she is beautiful, she gets all giggly.
When you tell a Southern girl she is beautiful, she answers,
"I was wonderin' when y'all would notice."MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
You know the difference between a hemmorrhoid and a transplanted Yankee?
Hemmorrhoids come down, but sometimes, they go back up.
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, OLD southern joke, originally told of a carpetbagger. After the..late unpleasantness.
Southern is a state- of mind, that is. I think you're gettin there.
Ray
Ray,
On that note, I think I'll go get me an RC Cola.
Y'all hurry back. Y'heah.
Sour Mash MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel
When you tell a Northern girl she is beautiful, she gets all giggly.When you tell a Southern girl she is beautiful, she answers,"I was wonderin' when y'all would notice."
Always true to my wife... But one experience I had was a woman in Kleen Texas. Just out of Fort Hood...
I asked for a Black Cow .. She asked what that was.. I told here .. In Chicago it is rootbeer with milk .. As in Ice cream.. She whipped out a body part.. And asked me if I wanted to go with her to the store freezer?
I ordered a double cheese burger with Hot Sauce...
WG.
You gotta put your life story on TV.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
You gotta put your life story on TV. ??
Everybody these days wants Reality TV shows.. Reality shows are OK if no advertisements and I am not watching! I do not like them at all!
OK, so I add some fiction to my thoughts.. But not alot.. The basic story is always true.. I have stated before I Majored in English and still cannot spell! Very true...
I can spells' the fancy words but not every day talk...
Just a old man here that never hurt his children except by being away all the time.. I would think that HURTS a child.. Man thing? I traveled the world ALONE... But the children were well fed! But still just a Mother to raise them..
In my next life I would ask God to send a video of me and my wife in the same situation.. I bet God picks Her AND not me!
I thought I was being a good father...
WB,
"the next life" ???Do you think that there is something after this one?
Do you think the hand planes will be less expensive there?
I hate to pay more than $200 for a handplane. :-)
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
WB,"the next life" ???
Do you think that there is something after this one?Do you think the hand planes will be less expensive there?I hate to pay more than $200 for a handplane. :-)Mel
And it is WG NOT WB..
You been tipping the good California wine? > (I do and New York wines a bit better!)
Do I think there is a life after? I sure do .. OR at least hope so! My lady was my life.. I still loved her and no other woman I wanted..
I would tell God you made her for me and one of your best works EVER.
Ray,
Purfik.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Aw, shucks.
Ray
Well, Mel,In the ancient egypt tombs, archaeologists found furnishings and other comforts left there for the soul, I believe. So if you are of that belief, there may be a use in bringing along books or other comforts.I would bring along a #9 gouge and a mallet so I can work my way out of the coffin should I work myself to death, so to speak.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
Wow. You open up an entirely new line of discussion for the denizens of Knots. What tools should woodworkers have placed in their coffins?You want a mallet and a #9 gouge. I want an electric socket, along with a Sawzall. If I need to get out of that thing, I don't to be screwin around with a gouge. Also a telephone would be good. Actually I don't want to be buried in a coffin. Too confining. I would rather be buried in the FWW shop with a nice supply of Curly maple and figured walnut. MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
No tools for me.
Collected works of Charles Dickens, and a reading light. That ought to last for all of eternity.
Ray
Ray,
Dickens huh?I like the poetry of Ogden Nash. He said it beautifully.
For example.
"I'm mad about mustard, even on custard."Of course, he once wrote a poem about sex. "Ode to a Turtle"
"The turtle lives twixt plated decks.
Which practically conceals it sex.
I think its clever of the turtle,
In such a fix, to be so fertile".But my favorite is his love poem. "To some a squirrel is a squirrel.
To others a squirrel is a squirrel.
There once was a young squirrel named Earl
who fell in love with a girl squirrel.
But there was a churl of a squirrel
who tried to steal Earl's girl.
There was one helluva row
and with one mighty blow
that young squirrel named Earl
knocked that churl of a squirrel named Burl
clear to the Tyrol." (or something like that. I can't remember the exact words."But I needed something serious for the coffin. So, I just ordered my copy of Moxon's "The Art of Joinery". If I can't work my way through it before I die, then maybe I'll take it with me. Shouldn't be too hard though. Schwartz edited for modern spelling and grammar (he said) and gives a commentary on some items. Can't wait. MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Odgen Nash.. said once that a little incompatibility was a good thing in a marriage, especially if he has a good income, and she is pattable.
The Cow
A cow is an animal of bovine ilk.
One end is moo, the other, milk.
was it O.N. who said:
"I wonder at the strength of stitches,
That bind the seams of Capri britches."
I bow to your wisdom in selecting Nash for reading in a coffin, over mine of Dickens. While Dickens would make an eternity of eternity, much of Nash's poetry is risible, which might be a good thing if you are unhappy and 6' under.
Ray
Mel!
Thanks for the reminder... I use to read Ogden Nash often. Wonderful reading.. At least for me...
Somehow I have forgotten about him over time. I'll drag out what I have and read it all over again.
See: http://www.aenet.org/poems/ognash1.htm
I saw a very funny thing this morning. A not far off neighbors house.
I would post a picture but my oldest granddaughter has left the roost. She has lived with me for several years and I guess she made up with her father and moving to Arizona to live there. Anyway, I gave her my digital camera for the drive there... I think she just likes my X son-in-laws parents.. Very nice rich folks!
She had a three then two of her college friends (young women) here with her.. She arranged their departing from my house before she went away.. I am SURE glad she did! I'd have no idea how I would politely ask them to go away!
Anyway, Out in the front yard was this large, maybe 4X8 foot board.. Painted very nicely.. Not exact wording, something like..
DAD
Getting OLD is for the birds.
Happy 89 Birthday!
And maybe 20 or so wooden birds planted around the yard... Painted, hunched over Buzzards.
I loved it! I hope it loves it as I did seeing it! He does NOT look 89! Maybe 70?
It was a FUN walk this morning....
And your.. But I needed something serious for the coffin.
I forget who, but there is a wonderful book on Japaneese Jointery I saw (do not have) that would take at least another life time to master. And you forgot about adding a picture of Freddy!
And as to the Tree Rats.. Yes, I feed them anyway..
http://www.vickiforman.com/?p=142
Ogden Nash
“The Squirrel”
“A squirrel to some is a squirrelTo others a squirrel is a squirl.Since freedom of speech is the burden of eachI can only this fable unfurl.
“A viral young squirl named CyrilIn a fight over a girlWas lambasted from here to the tyrolBy the churl of a squirl named Earl.”
See the link.. A very pretty woman to look at if nothing else... :>)
But this man loves Brunettes!
And never forget
Poems By James MetcalfeA writer for the Chicago SunTimes.. I LOVE his words...
I am not sure if allowed.. For years I never saw anything on the Net about him. Just one of his writings..
In My Loneliness'I fold my hands behind my back ...And slowly pace the floor ...I stop at every window and ...I listen at the door ...I gaze into the fireplace ...And stir the ashes gray ...But all that I can find is just ...A dream of yesterday ...I cannot hear your friendly voice ...That used to fill the room ...Or any fleeting echo that ...Might penetrate the gloom ...I cannot seem to reach your hand ..Or see your wistful face ...Not even in the magic flames ...That light the fireplace ...And yet somehow within myself ...I feel your presence near ...And in my loneliness I wish ...That you were really here.
A small book worth reading!
http://myweb.wvnet.edu/~jelkins/lp-2001/metcalfe.html
And this is my favorite work of his for some reason.. Mayby because of my girl babies...
Snuggy SleepersA lady puts her pajamas on...When it is time for bed...And they are quite a special kind...As we have always said...For they are soft and woolly and...They keep her snuggy warm...Whenever there is snow or sleet...Or any windy storm...We call them snuggy sleepers and...She loves to have them on...Especially to cuddle up...When it is early dawn...But when she eats her breakfast egg...And lifts her glass or cup...She always manages somehow...To get them spotted up...And when she starts to dress herself...She does not seem to care...Because she pulls her snuggies off...And throws them anywhere.
Edited 7/25/2009 12:24 pm by WillGeorge
Will George,
It is always fun to hear from you. YOur life is more interesting than any movies or books. The story about the sign in your neighbor's lawn is fascinating. Really great.I hope you get your electronic camera back. Glad to hear your entourage is smaller. Michael Vick had a large entourage, and it really cost him. :-)Have fun.
Glad you like Ogden Nash.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Glad to hear your entourage is smaller.
I am alone now with my crazy dogs! Ants and spiders.. I only let them have free rent because College IS EXPENSIVE... I did that while trying to feed my wife and children!
And please look back at the Medcraft link... .. Another Poem my James Medcraft
My Heart Is YoursMy heart belongs to you, my love...As long as I may live...And I have any happiness...Or sympathy to give...As long as there is sunlight and...A single star above...And just as long as any song...Will echo words of love...I offer you my heart and all...That I might ever be...If only every hour you...Would share your life with me...And when you took my promise, love...And you declared your own...I knew that I would never cry...Or ever feel alone...And that is why I strive each day...To make your dreams come true...And why in every way, my love...My heart belongs to you.
Poems By James Metcalfe
And a old Song..
The very thought of youAnd I forget to doThe little ordinary thingsThat everyone ought to doI'm living in a kind of daydreamI'm happy as a kingAnd foolish though it may seemTo me that's everythingThe mere idea of you,The longing here for youYou'll never knowHow slow the moments goTill I'm near to youI see your face in every flowerYour eyes in stars aboveIt's just the thought of youThe very thought of you,My loveRay Noble
A Song to sing to your wife!
And whisper in her ear the poem above!
Edited 7/25/2009 1:03 pm by WillGeorge
Ray ,
We have " The Works Of Charles Dickens " like 39 or 40 volumes that we inherited . Didn't know you liked it , not sure if I have enough lifetime left to read all of them , slow reader that I am .
If there is a particular you can't find , perhaps we can send it to you .
regards dusty
Thanks dusty, I was being purely tongue in cheek ;-P
My definition of eternity would be reading the works of Dickens without a break. Kinda like I said to my health-conscious relative after he lectured me about salt being "white poison". "Bob," I asked, "Do you think giving up everything that tastes good will make you live longer?... or does it just seem longer?"
Cheers,
Ray
Ulysses by James Joyce might be a better choice for "eternal" reading. I'm still looking for the first person who can honestly tell me they've made it all the way through that book AND understood what they read!Regards,Ron
Mr Joyce's work's reputation has so far put me off trying to read him. Maybe the hereafter would be a good place to begin reading Joyce.
Ray
Mel & All ,
I think you hit it on the head Mel ," under ground shops ", yup we work in them , then die in them then stay in them , hmmm how handy .
it sounded like you were having a real hard time figuring which tools to bring
regards dusty , a light traveler
Dusty,
heck, it wasn't even my shop that I want to be buried in. :-)
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
" I think you hit it on the head Mel ," under ground shops ", yup we work in them , then die in them then stay in them , hmmm how handy ."Epiphany!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Mel,I thought about power tools in a coffin, but not many coffins have 110V power. And what if the battery on the cordless gave out? I'll stick with my #9. By the way, I prefer to screw around with a screwdriver. Driving screws with a gouge mangles the edge. How's reception 6 feet under?I wouldn't want to be burried in someone elses shop. I have a hard enough time finding things in my own shop.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
My DW and I have travelled a fair amount through Europe. Art and Architecture are the main targets of interest, which means Cathedrals, since they had the money for A&A back in the day. I have always been entertained by the reliquaries that have all the bits and pieces of saints in them. No disrespect intended, but I had to chuckle that one time there was a reliquary with a saint's foreskin in it.
When I needed to get a new hip installed, I negotiated, cajoled, wheedled, and whined with everyone from the surgeon right up to the OR nurse just as the chemicals were being pumped in, but the resounding answer was always "Absolutley No Way You Can Take Your Bones Home With You!!"
I was terribly disappointed - had plans for making a beautiful reliquary for the mantle with my hip bone in it. I mean - how many people get to make their own reliquary? The DW did not seem very disappointed, though.
My back up plan is to make a reliquary and when I die, she is supposed to cut off a finger, put it in, and torch the rest of me. She has made no firm promises, (actually hasn't even acknowledged the request) and I'm not sure how I could enforce the deal anyway.
spot
leave well enough alone , heck she may want to practice on you first !
"Absolutley No Way You Can Take Your Bones Home With You!!" I think that is scandalous. Auto repair shops in most places, for example, are required to give you the parts they have replaced. ;-)
Didn't seem right to me either. Asked the surgeon why - was a no-compromise rule put in place 5 yrs ago by hospital. The cover story was risk of infectious body parts running around. I told him my spare parts out on their own would be no greater risk of spreading disease than my entire body would be walking around. He told me I was exactly correct, he agreed with me 100%, and "There is absolutely no way you can take your bones home with you".
I still occasionally dash off a sketch of a reliquary. Thinking maybe when the other hip destructs, I might look around for a repair shop that will let me take the parts with me.
spot,
it would be fair to say that a catholic elementary school education, during the 60's, was dreary at best and, more often, terrifying at worst. your post reminded me that it may not have been ALL horrid. every once in a while a little respite, by way of reliquary, came along.
a heavily bejeweled and very old box would be hand-carried by two persons up one aisle and down the other, affording each kid a view of a tiny bit of wood from "the-true-cross-of-our-lord" and at other times a bit of bone from saint so and so. sometimes a small vile of dried blood set into a gold and silver monstrance (sp?) was that day's entertainment. i have been fascinated by that sort of thing since.
eef
I especially like all the ones that magically appeared in England in the middle ages, providing abbeys with an admission-based exhibit to draw in the faithful. I'm also a fan of St Sebastian (DW loves mideval religious art in museums, and I can't stand it, so I just look for St Sebastian paintings). His cathedral outside Rome has a 4x lifesize sculpture of him pinned to the ceiling by arrows, the post to which he was bound, and a reliquary with one of the arrow heads. Again - no disrespect on my part - just find it all entertaining.
Maybe I'll make one with the key from Ben Franklin's kite and bottle, or a bone from a turkey at the original Thanksgiving in Plymouth, or a lock of hair from the girl Virginia Dare and the lost colony of Roanoke.
I knew a guy that had his coffin he made in his front room. It doubled as a coffee table.
Will Rogers
Had that in a shared college apartment. Great for the Halloween parties.
No french polish - more like "The good, The bad and The ugly" style.
My 85 year old neighbor is determined to stay living in her house. She says "They will have to take me out of here in a pine box".
As a woodworker I really have to bite my tongue. My temptation is to say "How tall are you? I will need to know how much lumber to buy". "What type of hinges and handles?"
Old bones are brittle, even if you err and make it too small a couple of well aimed blows from your mallet will get her to fit the box.
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
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