A Different Shade of Oak

Four years ago, I was obsessed with the idea of death, so much so that it began to creep into everyday life and often sent me into a panic, knowing that I could die at any time and in any number of ways. I would even feel somewhat "disconnected" or removed from my body, as if my mind had wandered off somewhere, leaving me to stare off into space in a long stupor.

Back then, I believed this was merely a phase and with time, I would come to accept an inevitable death. Yet here I am again, in the same place I was in my high school years - terrified of the Reaper. One minute, I'm watching a movie with friends or having a few drinks at a crowded bar, and the next, paralyzed with the thought of life's biggest mystery.

When I was that tender age of 18, I recall my attempts to create a blog such as this one, where I would delve into morbid subjects in order to confront my fears. Needless to say, it didn't work out as well as I would have liked, but it did bring up some interesting finds. Today, I revisit those morbid memories - crazy coffins.

During the mindless hours I spent surfing the internet in the Golden Age I knew as my teenage years, I came across a bizarre website showcasing the most interesting coffin designs from around the world. I vaguely recall one particular coffin that was lined with cushions and included a stereo system complete with headphones and extra batteries. Though I wasn't able to find it again, I did find some other crazy designs for the deceased.

Though I'll never fully understand some people's wish to be interred in a large wooden egg or a massive felt blue luggage case, there are other designs that encapsulate the departed's true passions when they were alive. The skateboard coffin and guitar coffin are testaments to this idea - each coffin was tailored to reflect the young boys' passions in their short lifetimes.

Sure, they'll be six feet under with no one to appreciate their clever designs but the maggots and earthworms, but it's a nice commemoration to those who have passed away. I can only imagine what Michael Jackson's body will be placed in - if, in fact, he'll be lowered into the ground for certain.

Yet what about those who don't want to go out with any fanfare or be placed in a glorified mummy box? With home funerals on the rise, that's not a problem. A number of states are now allowing the practice of home burials, giving the chance for loved ones to be solely responsible for the deceased and most of the funerary arrangements. In a select few states, the law requires that the body be handled by a professional at one point, as well as requiring the family to obtain burial permits and official death certificates. Oregon, the bastard state of the Northwest, has outlawed the practice of home funerals entirely. And with an average cost of $6,000 for a funeral service in the United States, they're certainly reaping the rewards by taking the dead into their own hands.