In theory, death care should be immune from short-term economic swings. Death is one of only two sure things in life, and the U.S. population is aging.It seems the funeral biz is currently experiencing a bit of a downturn, due mostly to the rising popularity of cremation.
And what's not to like here... cheaper and eco-friendly.
Compared with full-on casket burials, cremation is less expensive, requires less labor and fewer materials, and doesn't involve purchasing a plot. As such, it's perfect for an era in which consumers are trading down.Easier, cheaper... no draining out the dead guy and filling him with chemicals... man, this one's hard to argue.
I actually believe that after you die... what's left is just a slab of "soon to be spoiled meat" that should be cleaned up in fairly short order. Anybody who's ever lost a Swedish meatball down the back of the stove knows exactly what I mean.
Mrs. Neo's mom was cremated... so I have a sneaking suspicion I'm gonna end up in a crafty wooden box on a shelf in the basement... it's where all the junk we're not using inevitably ends up.
Funerals are for the living... and that's just fine with me.
Death is really such a funny sort of thing. Lots of people are seemingly too freaked out by the mere idea of not existing, to even joke about it. But somehow everybody is drawn to the flame. They're repelled and still somehow fascinated at the same time.
My wife's cousin is married to a guy, a successful businessman, who wants to give up manufacturing to put out a magazine about death. I think it'd probably be a huge success.
What I have come to realise personally... is that I am mostly pleasantly surprised to have reached solid middle age. I've always been a bit on the "glass half empty" side of things. I spent a horrendous summer the year I turned nine, making bargains with God... because I was convinced I was going to die.
Funny how remote and silly that seems right now.
Anyway, fwiw... just thought I'd throw that out there.
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