Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust and ‘Til Death Do You Part
Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem being cremated at facility that also cremated pets:
The U.S. military has, since 2001, cremated some of the remains of American service members killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere at a Delaware facility that also cremates pets, a practice that ended yesterday when the Pentagon banned the arrangement.
The facility, located in an industrial park near Dover Air Force Base, has cremated about 200 service members, manager David A. Bose estimated last night. It uses separate crematories a few feet apart to cremate humans and animals, he added, insisting that there had “not been any people gone through the pet crematory.”
Pets that are cremated are very much loved by their families. Some are probably more loved than certain human members of the same family. I understand how some people would feel that human and animal crematoria should be separate. But for me, pets are part of the family. I wouldn’t be taken aback if I or someone I loved was cremated in an oven next to an oven containing some family’s Spot or Fluffy.
In other news …
This caption was on the front page of the Washington Post over the weekend, under a photo of Jenna Bush and Henry Hager:
First daughter’s decision to privately wed Henry Hager disappoints a public fascinated by her coming of age.
WTF? Since when do presidents’ children owe the public anything? If she wanted a White House wedding, fine. But she didn’t, so end of story. She and her fiancé had the wedding they wanted, which is how it should be.
I once attended a friend’s wedding and reception. His fiancée’s father was s retired corporate big shot and the reception, at a local country club, was about 80-90% geezers and 10-20% younger people. It just seemed that the wedding was more for her parents and their social circle than for the wedding couple. I suppose if the parents are footing the bill for the wedding then they get some say in how it goes. But if you can’t afford to pay for the wedding, then maybe you shouldn’t (and save up until you can) or just have a simple one. Another couple of friends got married at the courthouse and had the reception at their apartment with a lot of home-cooked food. It was a great deal of fun.







