Samuel Butler once said, “Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.” This was similar to how Emily Dickinson viewed death, it was not something to be feared, but something to be embraced. Many of Emily Dickinson’s poems focus on this theme of death. Emily Dickinson’s early life and encounters with death led to the themes of…
try anything. Out of all his tormentors, the most profound was the grave digger, who had hated Russel ever since he learnt that Russel was too scared to consider even crossing the cemetery. This man never missed an opportunity to mock him. It was a cold winter evening, just like any other, when Russel stared at the cemetery, contemplating walking through it to save a precious many minutes, then dismissed the idea just as quickly, as he imagined what lurked under the countless graves. And…
“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” and movie Simon Birch, this quote not only becomes relevant, but it continues to be a theme in the lives of everyday people. “The Scarlet Ibis” tells the story of Doodle, a young boy battling with a disability all his life, and his older brother, who is damaged by his own pride and a longing to be “normal.” On the other hand, Simon Birch is a film about a boy, also with disabilities, named…
When I was only ten years old, I told my mother I wanted to be a funeral director and/or embalmer when I got older. Thirteen years later, I am still saying that same phrase, but only this time it is hitting a little closer to home. I have been waiting 4,745 days to finally be able to say that I am only one year away from achieving that long term goal of mine and I could not be more excited. Although I knew exactly what I wanted to do at such young age, I did not apply to mortuary science…
I do not remember exactly the particular day but all I remember was that it was very humid and the sky was cloudy. It was just a few days before I joined first grade and I had just arrived home from my neighbors. I was utilizing my last few days of freedom and hence was tired and hungry. I had rushed home looking forward to my grandmother’s food and playing time. This had been my routine from kindergarten and it never bored me to say the least. I was however shocked as our house was full of…
Case Studies Case 1: During my visit to St. John 's Episcopal Cemetery in Valle Crucis, NC, I came across an interesting example of a laser etched image on Charles Dotson 's gravestone. Etched on Charles 's stone was an image of the USS San Diego along with the inscriptions "WWII," "Bronze Star Recipient," and "Brother Our Hero." Initially, I could figure that Charles was a member of the crew of the USS San Diego during his life, and that time was a defining factor of his personal identity.…
Mortuary Rituals of the Gray Site The mortuary practices examined at this site involve both primary and secondary burials, as well as a variety of post-mortem methods used in the pre-burial stages. One case of a potential cremation has been documented in the site reports. A primary burial is one where the remains are found in relative anatomical order, as the body of the deceased was interred shortly after death as the remains were still fresh. A secondary burial is therefore the opposite – the…
been in the funeral home business for thirty years. He is the director at the West Resthaven Funeral Home. Mr. Marty Thompson developed his interests in the funeral home business when he was young. It started off for him by cutting grass at a cemetery in Ohio. After, events in his life just caused him to continue down that career path. They saw many changes in the funeral industry in the last five to ten years. One such change is that they started making jewelry with the deceased's…
“Hey guys what’s up it’s your two favorite people back at it again with the vlogging and today me and Crimson are going to do the 24 hour graveyard challenge. “At the moment Crimson is driving to the graveyard,” I said. We got an in and out burger before we got to the graveyard and when I lifted my burger to my mouth the grease dripped into my mouth and the sweet and savory meat, cheese, and ketchup exploded in my mouth. As we pulled into the parking lot the screeches of the car tires rolling on…
For this project I visited two totally opposite cemeteries, Friendship cemetery located in Columbus, MS and Memorial Gardens located in Columbus, MS off of highway 82. I went to both of these cemeteries on Sunday, November 1, 2015. An individual once said that cemeteries are like museums without walls (Marcus). I can relate to that statement when I visited Friendship cemetery, it was so interesting to me. Friendship gave me the feeling you get when you get a new book to read, and I could not…