An interesting thread here in a US forum about the custom of stopping to show respect for a hearse passing. I don’t suppose it’s a custom to be found anywhere in Britain any more. Pity. Any reminder that the bell tolls for every single one of us can’t be a bad thing. “We slowly drove, he [Death] had no haste.” That’s the way to do it.
On the subject of reminders of our eventual demise, I rather like this over-the-top urn cover which Shirley (I hope I’ve got that right) at Modern Mourner has commissioned. She says: “I plan to keep my most precious personal possessions in it for now, and when my time comes my ashes can kept sheltered in this most stylish cover. If my ashes are scattered at some point, I hope this wrap can be used to store meaningful mementos.”
Whatever you think about Shirley’s urn cover, wouldn’t it be a good thing if everyone kept their end of life docs in a dedicated hollow object which all members of the family know all about? I’m collecting mine in a wooden ashes pyramid that I bought from Carl Marlow. It’s satisfying to point and say, “It’s all in there.”
So it’s consigned to the fire for you then Charles?
Not necessarily. Perhaps. As Shirley says, the container can be dedicated to mementoes. I favour a green field somewhere. I’ll need to negotiate this with the missus.
Charles, such a “momenti mori for mementos” is more or less what I conceived of with my painted portrait urns – except that these are personalized with a handpainted portrait on the urn face. They are thus about as personal as anything can be.
http://perpetuaspassages.com
Thomas