Not Free To Die

Man


is not even


free to die?



*****


To whom


must my money


go?




****


And to where


will my soul be sent,


and my body separate lain,


if found not breathing

though I haven't the fee?




*****


According to man's laws,


I cannot afford to die.






What does your God say?


*****

Why cremation is not considered green

Discovery has a great website with information on Green Burial and materials, etc.

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/cremation-considered-green-burial-option

Burial Ground In England

I found this burial ground called Sun Rising Burial Ground and Nature Preserve, located in Britain. It seems that cremation is not "Green" and they allow for it, but gently discourage it. I've not run into this argument, although I've read about the "Green Burial Movement" yet must have really been out to lunch not to understand that there are such large cons that accompany cremation process.

Source: http://sunrisingburialground.co.uk/

Emily Post on Funerals

The most important time for etiquette, she argues, is when one least imagines it should be important, such as during the trauma and stress of a loved one's death.

It's a good point, and not often made. Makes sense. Like muscle memory in physical sport. Being able to perform without thinking about each small move frees one up to respond with finer thought to specific aspects in the moment.

Source: Bartelby.com

Rituals by Religion

Information comes from the strangest places. This florist's site  has an abbreviated listing of religions and their corresponding requirements surrounding funeral rituals.

For instance, in the "a funeral in Bali" section, there is a generous amount of detail given about such things as direction of the feet (they should go southward) and cremation ceremonies, needing a river, and more:

 "...The body then may be adorned with jewels, and placed lying on a stretcher, with the head pointing towards the south, which is the direction of the dead. Sometimes the body may be kept in a sitting position too. The stretcher is adorned with different flowers including roses, jasmine, and marigolds, and the body is almost covered with the flowers. Thereafter, the close relatives of the deceased person carry the stretcher on their shoulders to the cremation ground. If it is located at a distance, the stretcher is placed on a cart pulled by animals like bullocks. Nowadays vehicles are also used.

The cremation ground is called Shmashana (in Sanskrit), and traditionally it is located near a river, if not on the river bank itself. There, a pyre is prepared, on which the corpse is laid with its feet facing southwards, so that it can walk in this direction, as this is the direction of the dead."  

source:  http://www.myfloristsympathy.com/Funeral-Traditions-by-Religion.htm

Ash Parks: American Areas #1 thru #10

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/good-morning-americas-10-beautiful-places-america/story?id=14235228

And so there is the somewhat arbitrary list of my first ten spots.
Seems a bit simplistic and dumbed down but Good Morning America
has a huge viewership and those numbers count for something: General Public.

Re-ordered for my project:

#1
Sedona, Arizona

#2
Newport, Rhode Island

#3
Point Reyes, California

#4
Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

#5
Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

#6
Cape Cod, Massachusetts

#7
Destin, Florida

#8
Aspen, Colorado

#9
Asheville, North Carolina

#10
Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

What the...????

There's so much I have to say about ... what I'm about to say!

There is a 9/11 Meteorite Memorial Garden in Barringer, Arizona?
Say what?

How do things as significant as this nearly escape me? Here I have been researching Arizona and sites for possible Ash Parks for weeks and never come across the fact that there is a meteorite site there?
Until today? And then to add that right with it is a 9/11 Memorial Park, I'm slightly embarrassed and very grateful I found these no later than today!

9-11 Remembrance Garden is different from the following three, but in a similar area:

Canyon Diablo Crater  which is the old name for 

Meteor Crater (as Nasa calls it) or 

Barringer Crater