[auralpoison]

Dutch prisoners are contacting the dead.

Mr. Van bree " . . . has claimed that by talking to both the prisoner and the prisoner's dead parents he can discover key psychological insights to help the prison authorities rehabilitate criminals." Reeeeeaaaaally?

Huh. I wonder if this guy can put me in touch with somebody that can help me find all the shit I can't find in this mausoleum . . .

And from the HuffPo, ancient Egyptian Door To the Afterlife discovered.

Funerary mix up! D'oh!

When my mom passed, I asked that they leave some of her aside so I could bottle her for family like we did with me da. So I got a baggie of her. I poked it a bit & felt something hard. At first I was disturbed & wanted to know WTF kind of operation the funeral home was running. When I dug it out, I realised it was one of the pins & a plate from when she had her arm rebuilt. I keep it on my keychain as a morbid reminder.

[anarch]

Thanks for the link. I love this bit: Pea aphids, for instance, when threatened by a lady bug can explode themselves, scattering and protecting their brethren and sometimes even killing the lady bug.


I hate aphids, but I gotta give them some respect for that awesome ability.

It makes sense to me that your cat would have reacted that way. Most of the cats I know have complex social bonds and understandings with other cats.

Off to see if I can find video of exploding pea aphids...

[auralpoison]

I read this & thought it was interesting in light of the fact that I do think my one cat did this last summer. Animal suicide behaviour. There was nothing wrong with Y, I think he just died of a broken heart at losing his best friend.

[pollystyrene]

Interesting video about green burial.

[culturehandy]

AP, the last line was great. Although, I don't think you'd be the "life" of the party. I couldn't resist that one. I'm picturing you, as I imagine you look like, in a hawaiian shirt, and it's making me chuckle.

[auralpoison]

((((((Rainarana)))))) I bumped a thread for ya. That "Death of a Loved One" thread saved my bacon a few months ago. This thread was intended more for the morbid than the grieving.

Word, CH! I've made an appointment to talk to a lawyer about my will since I now have more than my usual meager assets. I am putting aside X number of dollars for my "shuffling off this mortal coil" todo. I want BBQ, music, more music, & a top shelf bar. I want to be propped up in a chair with a 'tini in hand while my body wears a particularly garish Hawaiian shirt. I'd like a funeral pyre, but that's a bit over the top.

[hellotampon]

Wow. Just by looking at the after-death pictures you can tell who was accepting of death and who wasn't.

[culturehandy]

On a different note, I've decided that not only do I want to be pitched in the ground and a tree planted in my memory when I die, I also want one tree planted for every year that I have lived. I will leave money specifically for this in my will. I don't want a big sob fest, I want a party when I go!

[auralpoison]

I bumped the "Death of a Loved One" thread in F&F for those who need it.

[erinjane]

Wow, those really were amazing.

[culturehandy]

polly, that is really interesting! Wow.

((((rainarana))))

[pollystyrene]

A German photographer took pictures of people shortly before they died and then soon after. They're pretty amazing:

Life Before Death

[tesao]

((((((((rainarana)))))))

i'm so very sorry for you, querida. losing a father is so very very hard. i'm glad that you were able to get home fairly quickly.

how are you feeling now?

your descriptions resonate with me. it was a punch in the gut. maybe a series of them, in my/our case, because the diagnosis was one big punch, then there was hope from the chemo, and then there was a punch when the chemo failed, and now there is that huge loss, especially for my sister and her day to day life.

you're right about "connecting", too. i've been feeling "adrift". it helps to skype with my sister and my husband, but i'm very physical and i really need to hug and touch them.

i've planned to return to the USA in late april, when my neiceoid elle has her baybee, so i felt that i couldn't fly there now, so close to the april date.

i've never seen my sister this vulnerable. it's sort of spooky.

[rainarana]

Hey Tes, I'm so very sorry. My father died unexpectedly two weeks ago. It was like a punch in the gut. I hope your sister can find what she needs to give her strength. This was on the memorial card. My father never would have wanted us to mourn for too long. The service was about talking about his life and remembering him being happy. This helped. Being so far away is the worst though. I flew back to the states from the NL two days after I got the news but until I got back home it was really difficult to connect to what was happening. Is it possible for you to get back to your family in the near future? This helps so much.





Indian Prayer

When I am dead
Cry for me a little
Think of me sometimes
But not too much.
Think of me now and again
As I was in life
At some moments it's pleasant to recall
But not for long.
Leave me in peace
And I shall leave you in peace
And while you live
Let your thoughts be with the living.

[faerietails2]

((((tes)))) I'm so sorry. That's intense.

[culturehandy]

That is so quick for someone. As you said, at least he is no longer in pain and was able to die in a place that he loves, and surround by those he loved and who loved him.

[tesao]

thanks, everyone. my sister is as well as you would expect. she's exhausted and torn. she's also numb, which i think is good for her right now. she is still surrounded by friends and she has her kitties. the fact that mamae is there and that she needs to look after her will help her, too.

it is good, on the one hand, to know that the falcon is no longer in pain and was able to die how he wished.

but death is for the dead. the living have to keep going about it, and i admit that i'm worried about that. he was her support, her rock, her anchor, what kept her strong and tethered to the earth. she is vulnerable and scared, and i don't know how to help with that. what do you do when your life mate is torn from you?

here's another bit that someone posted on the website:

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.

~Bette Midler~

[auralpoison]

(((((((((((Tesao))))))))))))))) Sorry, babe.

[starship]

wow, that poem was so simple yet so beautiful tesao. I jotted it down for the future too. I hope you're bearing up ok, and all your family too. x

[erinjane]

(((tesao)))

The poems really were both beautiful, enough that I copied them down into my journals. I'm glad that it sounds like your sister and bil were able to make the most of the time they had left together. They sound like amazing folks.