tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14882258858216177642024-03-12T18:53:49.393-07:00Death HappensRuminations of a 92 year old widower. Clifton W. Martin, Senior. Very senior
Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-90055187116255216922022-02-28T07:34:00.000-08:002022-02-28T07:34:16.176-08:00Only 37 entries?<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Why are there so few entries on this on this one when my other blogs have many more? I'm not sure. Did I get so busy living that I forgot about dying? That would be nice.</b></span> </p>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-41612333533601229102022-02-28T07:28:00.006-08:002022-03-04T08:44:19.383-08:00IT HAPPENS<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> When you're young, middle age or a young senior, which I suppose is anything under 80 or 85 these days, death is a terrible thing. When you get into your 90s, where I am, death is just something that happens. I don't encourage my Facebook friends, all much younger, to read this one. It might make them very uncomfortable that I treat death so lightly.</span></b></p>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-61616633217801645272021-02-01T09:37:00.006-08:002021-02-01T09:40:57.966-08:00The tree thing<p> Oops, you might want to change your mind about using your remains to fertilize a tree. It is now said that your ashes have zero nutrients that would affect a tree's growth. It was a nice idea anyway.</p>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-83900270506394547552020-12-30T14:19:00.001-08:002020-12-30T14:19:46.518-08:00When a pet dies.<p> <b><span style="font-size: small;">In a perfect world my pets and I would die at the same time so we could cross the Rainbow Bridge together.<br /></span></b></p>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-17931736308213273252020-09-03T12:03:00.001-07:002020-09-03T12:03:07.977-07:00Not Grief SupportPlease go no further if you are currently in a state of grief. There are other sites and local help wherever you are.<br /><div class="columns-inner" style="min-height: 0px;">
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Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-11706908276310319932020-09-03T12:00:00.003-07:002021-03-30T06:01:33.299-07:00OH CAITLIN!<b>I like Caitlin Doughty, the lady undertaker, more all the time. She cracks me up. If I were in California I would want her to do her thing with my remains. Caveat: No doubt there are many who find her inappropriate . Or worse. If you don't like it, don't read it.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-9164536005350791422020-04-23T04:43:00.001-07:002020-05-27T10:25:11.265-07:00When I go ...<b>Sometimes I think I should reverse my decision to have no service when I "pop off" as the British say. What a spectacle, what a grand production it would be. Four hours long with breaks along the way. It would be in our downtown theater. Live organ music, wildly eclectic recorded music. Videos of my glorious career in radio and public life. Free copies of all the marvelous writing I turned out, including those that got rejected and censored. But wait! There's more. After a pause for station identification. I am getting an idea for a digital gravestone. Wait a minute. That means I would need a grave . I must rethink the whole thing.</b><br />
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<b>You say this is inappropiate? Death is a serious thing? If you make it to 90 you might enjoy being inappropriate about a lot of things. That includes your own mortality.</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-18821794495244384032020-03-02T07:20:00.001-08:002020-03-02T07:20:40.507-08:00Holy Water?<b>I am too old to be living in this century. I had a hard time getting used to it when family members brought their bottled water into the funeral chapel.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-2699408416659889542020-02-18T05:39:00.000-08:002020-07-03T08:25:44.103-07:00Not funny, you say?<b>OK, so my idea of fun is weird. I find it fun to think about the reaction when I shuffle off this mortal coil and it's announced that there will no service. Some will be relieved because they don't like funerals. Others will be disappointed. They have already composed the things they want to get up and say about me. Maybe one or two old folks wish for a traditional Christian service. I just attended one of those. We sang "Jesus Love Me." It was sweet. It was appropriate for the deceased, friends and family. That's what matters. It's not my business or your business to tell anybody how they should deal with death.</b><br />
<b>The way we deal with it is a funny thing. OK, maybe not funny. But interesting.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-12217390228833257432019-12-09T16:19:00.000-08:002020-05-09T12:22:35.314-07:00The Lady and the Funeral Home<br />
<a href="https://respectance.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/caitlin-doughty-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://respectance.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/caitlin-doughty-1.jpg" /></a><b></b><br />
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<b>There are lots of female morticians. One of the most interesting is Caitlin Doughty. She owns a boutique funeral home in LaLaLand where all the creative ideas come from. She's dedicated to changing the way we think about death and the disposition of human remains. Her style is "different." She's a rabble rouser in the traditional funeral industry. </b><b> I like her. Maybe you won't. She makes me laugh. You can google her or find her on Ted Talks. </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvTdKGfj7eU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvTdKGfj7eU</a><br />
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<b><br /></b><b>I really like this one...</b>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWYCx2-PPLg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWYCx2-PPLg</a><b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-84870193235388304072019-09-20T06:01:00.001-07:002020-05-06T09:55:19.192-07:00Dare you read this??<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8y_oydJfyvEunssDSu3zggiBue6s21EskbnYVCjsdD5VIlrfQSe2lx6ScG_Bcc0_fIFCmNq4kOigYfu4-bR0jsUN2-eXwWYmqCvSLbwDmnY9ojO4P-f8TpSzXudCNlD4RALL-PdvsxBVL/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><b>Friends much younger than I, which is pretty much everybody, might not like this blog. If your need is for comforting words, grief support or profound thoughts about the meaning of it all, that's not what it is. It's just a lot of geriatric observations from a very old man. I tried to count the funerals and memorial services I've atended in those many decades. With only those that I can easily remember, I got close to 20 If I thought about it for awhile there would be many more. When you've been there that many times you change your mind about a lot of things. That includes your thoughts about your own "final arrangements" and the kind of service you want or don't want.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-61068691966018799212019-04-16T08:27:00.000-07:002020-01-05T16:17:33.540-08:00<br />
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At age 90 I am pretty traditional and old fashioned about a lot of things. Not about dealing with death. It's OK with me if you want your remains in an urn, cemetery, fertilizing a tree, .shot into space or encased in jewelry for someone to wear in remembrance. Just let your people know. If they don't like it, do not worry yourself into an early urn.<br />
<br />Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-9816434311458318782017-10-15T15:28:00.001-07:002019-05-18T13:13:42.551-07:00Wrong about death?I don't relate to the posts about death and grieving that I see on Facebook. I don't recall ever experiencing the waves of grief that I often see there. Is there something wrong with me? There are lots of things wrong with me. But the way I deal with death is not one of them. We are all different. Our attitudes and feelings about death are shaped by countless factors, beliefs and experiences and the circumstances of the death. Age is a part of it. My wife was 80 and I was 83 when she died. I'm twice the age of most internet users. I have experienced more deaths than I can remember. Nobody half my age or even 15 or 20 years younger dealing with a loss wants to hear that you might get over the grief. But you might.<br />
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Why does the 1940 Cadillac keep showing up here? Maybe it's a guy thing. I hope some guy who is into classic cars will spot it and take a peek at what the blog is about. It would be good to know that men read something about death that's written by a man and find something helpful in it. If there's a fellow Packard fan here, you probably know that Henry Ford's last ride wasn't in a Ford or a Cadillac. It was a Packard hearse.Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-41448099872070721872016-06-25T08:21:00.000-07:002020-01-08T07:54:03.105-08:00Family conflict when there's a death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Some manner of family conflict is pretty close to inevitable when there is a death in the family. When I see it happening I imagine the deceased person painfully watching, saying "Get over it! If you want me to rest in peace, quit your squabbling and come together as a family."</b><br />
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<b>It's especially painful when the last parent dies and there's an estate to be settled.</b><br />
<b>Sometimes it heals after a while, other times it splits families forever. It's not a good idea to say "It won't happen to us." Maybe you'll get lucky and it won't. But being prepared for it and how to deal with it is a better idea. Get a lawyer. Get a funeral director. Make your wishes known. Get it done.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-85553125028700704592016-02-25T11:07:00.000-08:002016-06-25T10:16:13.020-07:00What's this blog about?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtGyegGXNhCzoL7Z9hTK0RPOV4hPbbunG9yJZMOseZrCiLUmJz-qvkgpzGxXetqfFFJijRCcK417XuRRv-94xof8HrP0XPg_JP4R-FX8jRdeVIbtBnpn3CVZAuljO2fa5hr0EAU5Y3gZ1/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtGyegGXNhCzoL7Z9hTK0RPOV4hPbbunG9yJZMOseZrCiLUmJz-qvkgpzGxXetqfFFJijRCcK417XuRRv-94xof8HrP0XPg_JP4R-FX8jRdeVIbtBnpn3CVZAuljO2fa5hr0EAU5Y3gZ1/s200/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="200" /></a><b> </b><br />
<b>It's not therapy, comfort for the bereaved or grief support. There are lots of individuals and groups doing that. It's just an old guy's ponderings and meanderings about more deaths than I can count or even remember. I write mostly for me but there's that faint hope that somebody will stumble upon it and find something they can relate to.</b><br />
<br />Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-77553239496944911362016-02-11T07:31:00.000-08:002019-02-02T08:17:59.124-08:00Guys and grief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Do men and women grieve differently? Of course. Are there exceptions? Sure.</b><b> </b><br />
<b>I might have tried a local group if there was one for guys, moderated by a male person.</b><br />
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<b></b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-27368677104436040802015-08-31T08:08:00.001-07:002015-09-15T08:30:34.856-07:00Old Folks, New Love<b>There's a nice older song, "Love is lovelier the second time a</b><br />
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<b>round." It's heart warming to see an older widow or widower find new love. I like to see it but I don't envy it. At this time in my life I need to be alone. That's another one that goes in the category of "We are all different and there is no right or wrong way to deal with death."</b><br />
Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-58435809217387955712015-08-28T07:21:00.001-07:002015-09-15T08:33:57.011-07:00Do it now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The tadrn address stands for "Talk About Death Right Now." I am quite passionate about taking care of as many end-of-life details as I can before it happens. No doubt there are friends and family who are, to put it mildly, uncomfortable about that. I am not depressed. I do not plan to shuffle off to Buffalo (that's an old song) or anyplace else very soon. It's just something I need to do. And I would be happy if more people did it.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-22804221710670466492015-08-25T09:57:00.001-07:002020-01-06T08:04:50.576-08:00Old Guy Mortality Musings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>If there is anything at all that's different about this blog and other four that I hope somebody stumbles upon, it's the age thing. At 90, I could be the father or grandfather of most internet users. It would be real nice if that made me wise It just puts me in a very different place from anyone who reads my geriatric ramblings.</b><br />
<b>I am a widower as of 2013 My parents, aunts and uncles, siblings and all but a few possible cousins are long gone. How could someone half my age or younger possibly relate to anything I say about death?</b><br />
<b>There's not much I can tell them. So I talk to myself. Isn't that what many bloggers do? It's good to see your thoughts on screen and be surprised at what you wrote. You think, " Did I say that? Is that what I've been thinking?"</b><br />
<b>That's a pretty good reason to keep a journal or diary or write a blog about life, death and everything in between. If you need comments, put it on facebook. If it's your personal diary, do a blog.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-37160751146866563582015-08-22T12:53:00.000-07:002020-02-02T05:56:08.151-08:00The Famous Five Stages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3mFtIx8fjiLVv0Y40gMVBXfYVc2JlVXRNwIP07IUJ9YHZ4uuLKAkycHK7Y5xTW6KDPmgrbWYv00-Vt_VlyhjWHpcmbzrRj5_-i0CKfaBfvmOgdfLN6V21J9dy1Zd9KytYCMSfK734HNj/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3mFtIx8fjiLVv0Y40gMVBXfYVc2JlVXRNwIP07IUJ9YHZ4uuLKAkycHK7Y5xTW6KDPmgrbWYv00-Vt_VlyhjWHpcmbzrRj5_-i0CKfaBfvmOgdfLN6V21J9dy1Zd9KytYCMSfK734HNj/s320/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Ever since my wife died in 2013 I have had questions about the five stages of grief that the counselors talk about. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. They came from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Her 1969 book, "On Death and Dying," made her name a household word. We still hear about her today.</b><br />
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<b>I was thinking, is there something wrong with me? If I experienced those stages I got them in the wrong order and I'm not sure I went through any of them. Except maybe acceptance, which isn't really a stage for me.</b><br />
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<b>This is one reason why I have so far avoided the various grief support groups. There's one at a church not far from me, moderated by a professional grief counselor who shows a video and leads the group in talking about it. That kind of presentation can be very effective, but it doesn't work for me, no matter the subject at hand. Just another of my quirks. Probably an introvert trait.</b><br />
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<b>Be sure to read the comment below from a person who worked with Kubler-Ross.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-72477083321967207362015-08-19T06:51:00.000-07:002020-01-14T07:03:31.324-08:00Me Boy. You Girl.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKA8ZfvZiFQVI2FIjdv4R8KTQODpd_t5TxtN8NLKBe3cPmS4zukiBd_jQtVy0_l9QnYG2e9F6cr3EV1yH0TUnmxLdSUE9beFqXZJ0oDdYfpu4KYLiYNi63s-v5TAmCizv4F-uFJ_VeguPX/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKA8ZfvZiFQVI2FIjdv4R8KTQODpd_t5TxtN8NLKBe3cPmS4zukiBd_jQtVy0_l9QnYG2e9F6cr3EV1yH0TUnmxLdSUE9beFqXZJ0oDdYfpu4KYLiYNi63s-v5TAmCizv4F-uFJ_VeguPX/s200/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="200" /></a><b>Do guys deal with death in a different way than the women do? Yup, I'd say maleness is one of the big things that makes me what I am about everything. Including death. The number of women who write and read about death and attend grief support groups is far greater than the men. It might be argued that women live longer so of course there will be more of them dealing with death. Is there more to it than that?</b><br />
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<b> </b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-37756243959239036012015-08-18T08:13:00.000-07:002015-08-18T10:01:10.260-07:00WHY BLOG ABOUT DEATH?<b>I don't know how many blogs about death and dying there are. I tried to count them... got to a hundred and stopped there. Most bloggers are probably realistic enough to know that we're lucky if we can get 2 or 3 close friends or family members to read our stuff. We do it anyway. Maybe for ego, sometimes for therapy. It's pretty good grief therapy that I write mostly for me. With a title like "Death Happens," I can't imagine many surfers who stumble on this one looking to see what I have to say. Death is pretty far down on the list of things internet users want to read about or think about. So I keep grinding them out for me.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7j9KNy8KP8FsPpmp-sJz28-r0d8dU9kHfGrdYLqOPuxwMbFJX8keiNiIVme_8U2ytWRQNlKiGS4ODv39jIcLG22p0YK_JTkzcp_8gdfC5Kkrd1bjTlUzaEjEjYfJYyeSWXcRTcTjMh6I/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7j9KNy8KP8FsPpmp-sJz28-r0d8dU9kHfGrdYLqOPuxwMbFJX8keiNiIVme_8U2ytWRQNlKiGS4ODv39jIcLG22p0YK_JTkzcp_8gdfC5Kkrd1bjTlUzaEjEjYfJYyeSWXcRTcTjMh6I/s320/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="320" /></a><b> </b><br />
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<b> Sure there's </b><b> that hope that some little thing I say mi</b><b>ght accidentally be of value in a way that I never thought of.</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-83442436053192574112015-08-15T07:20:00.000-07:002015-08-15T07:25:53.747-07:00Dream burial car<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnuUUHD5yOhD6n6OAe6J_gWNzh3k20DkMoChRTDATJzCOoBDXOzXm11nfjV4zRmRp8wPx65mWLFRNSsW06_hey4DjPubSjtwt0pU5ODKl93mKyUNHqpSfCVNODktjQ36cPGb7lwqx4g_I/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnuUUHD5yOhD6n6OAe6J_gWNzh3k20DkMoChRTDATJzCOoBDXOzXm11nfjV4zRmRp8wPx65mWLFRNSsW06_hey4DjPubSjtwt0pU5ODKl93mKyUNHqpSfCVNODktjQ36cPGb7lwqx4g_I/s320/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="320" /></a><b> </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HpMxYS_jx8FJ3ZWiEXfGxRpGPX6areerySpIpiuf3a4jnmi9uVOE_jszFkIxsGpkPN6Xy86_IIpxKuUXutMvR5IrjVQcBpnMUVRa7v-Q1Fyyd2eFvtXGvOfAxa4nD7vbinV-osm5VJ85/s1600/1985_chrysler_fifth_avenue-pic-8010651111009019317-640x480.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HpMxYS_jx8FJ3ZWiEXfGxRpGPX6areerySpIpiuf3a4jnmi9uVOE_jszFkIxsGpkPN6Xy86_IIpxKuUXutMvR5IrjVQcBpnMUVRa7v-Q1Fyyd2eFvtXGvOfAxa4nD7vbinV-osm5VJ85/s320/1985_chrysler_fifth_avenue-pic-8010651111009019317-640x480.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>That classic funeral car is a 1940 Caddy. I wouldn't mind taking a ride in it, either now or to my final resting place. But if I were going to be buried in a favorite car, which does happen sometimes, my dream burial car would be a mid 80s Chrysler Fifth Avenue.</b><br />
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<b><span id="goog_1217418123"></span><span id="goog_1217418124"></span> I can't explain why, there is just something about that style that has tremendous appeal. Maybe it's "your grandfather's car." I think that's it.</b><br />
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<b>And it does look a lot like a Cadillac. Maybe a poor man's Caddy. But it wouldn't be cheap today if you can find one. </b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-21537564545324205352015-08-14T06:55:00.000-07:002015-08-14T06:57:59.675-07:00Widower's lament<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI7hEOMPdjAE8fxiFbASE0cfzHswzfX-M-w4cSXIrKpePlWsvVb2YprVZjbMOH39iCxDzkT6RGi77bphlMgxisQ_f9_sLIySWTUJdSprrCatkDDfpkl5GAm-BROD3mQ9LyTXtWRUF4hmB/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI7hEOMPdjAE8fxiFbASE0cfzHswzfX-M-w4cSXIrKpePlWsvVb2YprVZjbMOH39iCxDzkT6RGi77bphlMgxisQ_f9_sLIySWTUJdSprrCatkDDfpkl5GAm-BROD3mQ9LyTXtWRUF4hmB/s320/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b> I did it...cooked 2 eggs over easy. I had been scared of trying anything but scrambled. If Midge was watching from heaven I know she was saying "I could do it better." To which I can only answer, "You are so right. I do the best I can without you but my best is not all that great."</b>Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488225885821617764.post-66663851635562710252015-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:002017-10-18T14:52:36.304-07:00Those Cheeseheads are pretty smart<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JhfCUErO5IRJSZXIiADX4QO4PN6Qu7_OA7sA1OVHmHU3sk54IyTj3Fwri7l6eo763ANCQ_ItH-JjELMW7svK_rIBUcA9YR2Tr7q266XDsDpZYpr5kDBqqjRXMUj_vN63dmiwQuCJYWuJ/s1600/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JhfCUErO5IRJSZXIiADX4QO4PN6Qu7_OA7sA1OVHmHU3sk54IyTj3Fwri7l6eo763ANCQ_ItH-JjELMW7svK_rIBUcA9YR2Tr7q266XDsDpZYpr5kDBqqjRXMUj_vN63dmiwQuCJYWuJ/s320/1940+Cadillac+Eureka.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>My <span style="font-size: small;">previous post opened with, "Do I think about what happens when you die? Not a whole lot." That's right. I don't think about what happens to me but I think a lot about what happens to my family during the days and weeks soon after my departure. I think about the stuff they will need to deal with. Those thoughts do not make me happy.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">I will probably leave them with a physical mess. I am a widower. A real poor housekeeper. To counter my breast beating and guilt about that mess, I have become somewhat of a fanatic about what the morticians call pre-planning. I don't mean just the "final arrangements." I do most strongly believe in setting that up before you die but I refer to the mountains of legal and business things a family must deal with, especially when a last parent dies. The estate must be closed. That can be really hairy and complex. You need a lawyer to draw a bunch of papers that spell it all out what happens to your assets. Don't let an older loved one get away with 'I don't have anything so I don't need all that. Just bury me in the back yard." If it ever was that simple, it isn't any more.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">There is a town in Wisconsin that might be the most prepared-for-death city in the whole country. The good people of La Crosse probably have a classier way to describe what they do. One writer headlined the story "The town where everybody talks about death."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">They spend less on end-of-life related health care than anyplace anywhere. Just short of a hundred percent of La Crosse residents have an Advance Directive. That's a paper that spells out what kind of treatment and life support you want if you get seriously ill and near death. That saves a lot of money and I'm sure it prevents some family arguments about what the loved one would have wanted. My family members might not all be happy with my Advance Directive but at least they can say "That's what the old man wanted so I guess we're stuck with it."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">I must visit the Badger State. I will show up in La Crosse, shake a few hands and whip out my Advanced Directive before they ask me if I have one. I'll bet those Cheeseheads will welcome me with open arms.</span></b><br />
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<br />Clif Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851183338504633118noreply@blogger.com0