Ashes to Ashes

Those PR reps who continue to ignore my request to stop faxing over press releases I also receive soft copies of by e-mail should be glad to know that the paper they're so eagerly helping to consume have another good use to go to. The very action of my tossing paper into the recycling bin now has whole new karma, because our city might soon start making our very own cost-effective and environmentally friendly paper coffins.

During the few minutes of the radio program I caught this morning, a guest/caller commented that cremating the dead in paper coffins is highly problematic because the dead can feel what he/she is using. Immediately I was overcome with anxiety while images of various offerings flashed before my eyes. The clothes, shoes, gold watch, seven-story mansion, Rolls Royce, mahjong tiles and mahjong buddies we offered to my grandfather when he died were all made of paper! Has Grandpa been cursing us all these years for giving him flimsy furniture?

It sure is good to know that even up to the moment I burn into ashes, there's that much more I can do to help the environment. But if you really believe you can feel the difference between wood and cardboard after you die, you might not want to put yourself through the blistering cremation causes.