I passed by a shop today that sells tombstones. Many different shapes, but all traditional. I don’t want a boring one like that on my grave. But what? A rectangular slab 1x4x9 in proportions might be cool (that’s the shape of the monolith in 2001), but may be a bit too fragile. A block or sphere made of stainless steel might be nice too, it’ll always be the shiniest one in the cemetary.
Seeing as my real wishes are illegal (drag my bones out to the woods and dig a hole) I want something different as well. I like the monolith idea or maybe a stone EZ-Chair (hey some people have benches).
Even if you are cremated, won’t you need a grave or tombstone, just as a symbol or as a place to keep the ashes? That’s what we do in Japan, the lower compartment of the tombstone contains the ashes. I’d probably get cremated too, I don’t want to rot in the earth.
The ez-chair idea is nice, except it reminds me too much of the Oklahoma City memorial.
I plan to be buried(or have my ashes interred) at a small cemetery in the country, west of Topeka here in Kansas. It’s not a family cemetery but there are four generations of my mother’s families there, starting in the 1880’s. I would like a small obelisk, to match some of the very old grave markers that are already in the cemetery. As I will be the only person with my surname there, on three sides of the obelisk I would have carved the three names of family related to me. On the front will go my name and date of birth. But instead of having a date of death I would like it to say reborn , instead of died. And if there is room I want the Scripture verse from Job “I know that my Redeemer lives…”
I’d like to be cremated and have at least a portion of my ashes shot into space - expensive, I know, but hey - I’m sure there’s a NASA techy here somewhere. If not, someone here’s gotta work for the European or Russian space agencies. Consider it a favour?
I want to be cremated and the ashes used as fertilizer for a lilac bush dug up out of the yard. If I find out I’m buried whole and stuck under a slab of granite I’m going to come back to life and kill someone.
Pine box hopefully. A marker with an angel with her head down. Like the basic head on the desk during movies at school, asleep. I saw this in a book and I just thought it looked really cool and sad.
A red granite rectangle flush with the ground, with surname, first name and dates of birth and death. There’s a cross intertwined with a rose on the left side, and the words “In God’s Hands” incised on the bottom. When they put my wife’s name on it I made sure to leave enough space for mine.
I’m going to be cremated first, though. I do not want to be whole and in a box.