Death Rip-Offs and Waking Up

After Dad’s doctor gave him the diagnosis and we learned that his disease is always terminal and tends to ravage one’s lungs quickly, dad became interested in making sure things were set for the end time. That meant he spent endless hours going through files and paperwork, organizing and making instruction sheets for survivors to follow.

During these months we had many frank conversations about death. So often, the only thing that consoled me after these talks was returning home my four-year-old son. My boy never knew the circle-of-life brand of comfort he gave me those times we sat silently together.

Process.

Dad is not short on opinions and death is no exception. “I don’t want those greedy bastardss to get even one dime out of me when I'm blue and stiff,” and “I want to find a way to beat this funeral business racket!” and “G.D. thieves, these funeral directors and undertakers…” made up much of dad’s death script.

I began to understand his point of view. And my interest in helping Dad come to peace with his own journey grew. If this is your point of view too, you may be interested in some big steps away from big business death.