WEEK THREE: Five questions on FUNERALS

AUTHOR IN CHARGE OF THIS WEEK: Andreas Ekström

I just attended a wonderful funeral. Does that sentence sound weird? We buried my grandfather, who had just turned 96. He led a full life, and left a big family in harmony behind as he now passed away. I am not a religious man. I don't think grandpa is around anymore, not in any way. But he is in us! I was a pallbearer at the funeral, and was one of the six who actually put the casket down in the grave. And old farmer, returning to the soil from which he harvested a life. I will remember it forever.

1. Which is the best funeral you ever visited?

2. Which is the worst funeral you ever visited?

3. Did you make any plans for your own funeral?

4. What are your thoughts on burial in the soil versus cremation? Which is better? Which is better for you? (And did you hear about the Swedish method, not yet sanctioned, where the body and the casket is frozen very very cold, and then vibrated into a powder...? Apparently very friendly for the environment.)

5. And finally: Isn't it just odd that the word funeral starts with fun...? What are your thoughts on the very word? And what is the word for funeral in your language, if your first language isn't English?