Cremation

While driving into town today I was listening to a person being interviewed on CBC radio.  She had attended a Trade Show.  This was a Trade Show on cremation.   She said that in Vancouver, about 85% of the (dead) population are cremated.  She spoke of the coffins on display, headstones, the specially created bags for those wanting their ashes to be spread into the sea (you deposit the bag containing the ashes on the water - the bag sinks and biodegrades and the ashes scatter underwater). But the creepiest thing of all was a company that will take about 1/3 of the cremated ashes and through various processes, make a diamond for you which can then be mounted in a ring or whatever you wish ... cost from about $3,000 to about $20,000 depending on what you wish.  Just perusing the website below, I can see there are a number of things one can do with the dearly departed such as fingerprint jewellery, putting ashes in a scattering machine, or in a birdhouse in which birds can nest.  I guess with the number of elderly in this day and age, this may be a wise business to get into.  We all have to go somewhere and like this interviewer said, "it is not if, but when".  If you are feeling a bit morbid, here is the website:  http://www.cremationsolutions.com

The other day I also heard another unique idea for the dead.  Turn your ashes into a tree.  A biodegradable urn with tree seeds can be planted and one day your ashes will help spawn a living tree.  Interesting.  Want to do that, here is a website:  http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/this-awesome-urn-will-turn-you-into-a-tree-after-you-die

So many choices ...