B is for Burial

My theme for this year's A- Z Blogfest is DEATH (who I really hope is like DEATH in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series): "An obvious sort of fellow: tall, thin (skeletal, as a matter of fact), and ALWAYS SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. Generally shows up when you're dead, or just when he thinks you ought to be." Today we have B for Burial.

Burial is one way we take care of the dead (I'll bet you can guess what the letter C will be...). I rather like graveyards and find them very interesting to walk through, but I'm not sure I want to actually be buried. I don't care if I'm dead (well, I do...but I won't, if you know what I mean), but the thought of being stuck in a coffin under a bunch of earth creeps me out. I do like the idea of a marker, which is a nice thing about being buried. There you are forever remembered, or at least as long the headstone stands. On the other hand, if too many people keep getting buried, at some point we will run out of space, not to mention the environmental impact of burial. Just think of all the wood and metal that just gets buried, or all the formaldehyde that gets washed down the drain and into...?

So, I'm torn. I like graveyards, but I don't think I want to get put in one. How about you? Have you thought about what will happen to your body once you're gone?


Excerpt from Mort, by Terry Pratchett, in which DEATH takes on an apprentice...

Mort: But you're Death. You go around killing people!
DEATH (obviously offended): I? KILL? CERTAINLY NOT. PEOPLE GET KILLED, BUT THAT'S THEIR BUSINESS. I JUST TAKE OVER FROM THEN ON. AFTER ALL, IT'D BE A BLOODY STUPID WORLD IF PEOPLE GOT KILLED WITHOUT DYING, WOULDN'T IT?