The Rehearsal Funeral

With all the brouhaha surrounding Michael Jackson's funeral, it got me thinking. That happens occasionally.

Why can't our society move towards preview funerals, or rehearsal funerals? We could refer to them as pre-burial, dry runs, or before- the- big- exit- funerals. Seriously, all the nice stuff that was done surrounding his funeral, people said NICE things, positive things, and all the negative junk was left out of the script. I kept thinking, it would be prudent for him to have heard some of these things BEFORE he died so he could've enjoyed his life a little better.

But same for us, the little people. (no cross reference meant here for the new politically correct verbage regarding people under 3 ft), but the regular people who only get the good things said about us after we're gone.

Truly, I'd rather hear it now. Who really benefits if friends and family wait until after you're gone to point out something special about you that they never told you? Will I care if I'm not here to hear it? Probably not. Where I'll be, there won't be any pain or bad gossip, nastiness, or anything like that. Why can't we tell each other while we're HERE?

Same with flowers. I love flowers. But I love them HERE. I can't smell them after I'm gone. I can't enjoy their beauty if I'm in a closed box, underneath them.

I could care less what my useless body is put into when my soul has moved on. I'd rather use that money now, for a vacation or a party or something. The earth doesn't need another fancy satin lined box put into it. We're all encouraged to go green. Here would be a great start, or finish, depending how you look at it.

I move that eulogies should be given at a rehearsal funeral. This would be the relaxed, true event, and after the person is gone, it would just be a re-run, like on TV. That way, the person who has moved on gets the benefits too. For me, the more humor at my pre-funeral the better, and heartfelt words from anyone who thought I was an okay person, or was special, now THAT would be a party!! I'd hang around just for that! That's what I call a real savor of life.