Together again, at last.

Ask a Mortician - Rigor Mortis

Okay - I know it's an..."iffy" subject matter, but I'm also willing to bet that most everyone has wondered about certain aspects of how the physical body reacts to death. Besides, not breathing, of course. I'll say this now, if it's a subject matter that is more than you want to know about, click off this blog post. But, if you're the least bit curious, Caitlin may have answers for you.

Caitlin Doughty is a certified mortician living in Los Angeles who is more than willing to share her education and experience. Somehow, the eerily creepy part of what happens to our bodies once we die becomes quite conversational when Caitlin explains.

You'll find her website Order of the Good Death a wealth of information, including her videos, blog, and more. Here's her first video explaining about rigor mortis. It's somehow done including science & yet all the while feeling like you're talking with a dear friend. ... I never thought those two things worked together, but she somehow manages it!


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It Can Wait

We all think it won't happen to us. I'm sure each of the people in this video thought the same thing.



Thanks, Carol, for the link.

We Both Ate Lucky Charms For Breakfast Yesterday

From David at It's Like Herding Cats:

Spent some time yesterday with some of my favorite young people - Kira Stoy, Sydney Hoskinson, and Ian Anderson. Bunny had the girls in our Honda so Mr. Ian and I headed out in my car. Ian and I have a lot in common.

- We both ate Lucky Charms for breakfast yesterday
- We both wonder about things like physics and natural laws that other people don't
- We both love science fiction
- We both get our geek on, obviously

Yesterday though we had lots of fun looking at the high tech tools in Home Depot and Office Depot, and though we shared a love of pizza at Cici's (he ate at least 9 pieces, I ate 4), we also talked about something we share that neither of us ever wanted.

You see Ian's friend Lucy the dog is dying from a brain tumor.

I know how that feels.

Read the full post here.

Ana

Tiny, fragile and precious

Your beauty lives in my heart

Alongside my love

A joy

A love

A beauty

That nothing can destroy

A bond that death cannot break

~Linda Probyn~

Coping

Just spent time talking with Daddy. He still misses Mama so very much, so the call was filled not only with memories but with a lot of tears. It's incredibly hard for me to hear my father sob. He was so strong and stoic for all my life because that's the way he was brought up - men didn't cry. Men made a living for the family and took care of business while providing the deep yet reserved love needed.

A long time friend died yesterday. I'd been told about the illness a few weeks ago and knew the prognosis wasn't good, but chose not to tell Daddy. Between the stroke(s) and heart problems plus Mama's passing I just didn't think it would help for him to know. He heard the news yesterday from one of my brothers and sent me this:

"I don't know if I'm up to attending his funeral...I'd probably cry more than Christine ..I've got to where I'm able to sleep all night ...in fact I got up @ 7 o'clock .. but I still reach for Dot during the night - when I do wake up during the night."

It's just so terribly hard. I told him to send flowers and not go to the funeral because right now all things dealing with death brings him back to Mama. He cried and I cried along with him. He talked of Sean, Natasha, guitars, Mike and the garden and how Patsy still takes such good care of his laundry and home. But, most of all, he talked of missing Mama.

I do, too.