|
|
 |
 Death: One Last Chance To Make Your Mark By A. Dashing YOU'RE BORN ALONE, you die alone...or so the existential quandary goes. Does that mean you have to face death unprepared? Probably. But if it makes you feel better in the meantime, you can bone up on the aftermath of your demise with this simple guide from a couple of pragmatic journalists from the venerable Wall Street Journal.
Hell, why wait till you're cold? With this handy 200-page volume of logistical checklists, musical selections (actual song titles, from "When The Saints Go Marching In" to Guns 'n Roses' "Knocking On Heaven's Door"), selected poetry and literary quotations, and projected costs for dressing (your) body, buying flowers, renting a hearse and providing a register book and acknowledgment cards, you've got the makings for the party of, well, a lifetime.
There's even a section on how to avoid the "problem speaker"
in planning your eulogy. What could be more fun than heckling
the problem speaker at your own eulogy? Puts that whole murder-mystery
dinner theater craze to shame, doesn't it? If we work together
on this, we could make it the Next Big Thing.
|
 |
Home | Currents | City Week | Music | Review | Books | Cinema | Back Page | Archives
|
 |
© 1995-97 Tucson Weekly . Info Booth |
|
Their helpful how-to manual, no doubt culled from the greatest
of intentions, is a morbid little read ideal for Type A personalities:
If you plan death down to the last detail, maybe it won't get
the best of you. Of course, it will; but Bennett and Foley make
it sound like so much fun, you won't want to wait another minute
to plan your own service, or that of someone you love.
Services in laundromats, on riverboats, mid-air, as a concert--all
these can be found in Chapter 7: Informal, Creative Services.
Feeling your religion? Don't bat an eye--In Memoriam is
like the Cliffs Notes of sacred texts. You'll find at least a
paragraph or two on all the major world religions, not to mention
relevant references to appropriate passages that bridge the gap
between here and the hereafter. " 'O God Our Help In Ages
Past' is popular among Episcopalians," the authors note.
