Wondrous Breathtaking Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Wooooooowwwwwww!  Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise is in eastern Paris, France.  As the largest cemetery in Paris it is also the most visited, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.  It is beautiful and holds the graves of many famous people, mostly but not exclusively French.  The 110 acre cemetery was opened in 1804 and there are over 1 million people buried.  Including the ossuary and the columbarium there are over 2 million people interred in the cemetery.  Its crematorium was built in 1894.  It is still an active cemetery.  Plots can be bought in perpetuity, for 50, 30 or 10 years, the last being the least expensive option.  There are many exquisite monuments, markers and mausoleums.

The cemetery was not too busy for a number of years after it opened.  It was decided that a good marketing strategy would be to start burying famous people there.  It worked.  There are many well-known individuals interred at Pere Lachaise:

Moliere, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Isadora Duncan, Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Bizet, Maria Callas' empty urn, Chopin, Colette, Corot, Delacroix, Max Ernst, William Temple Franklin (Ben Franklin's grandson), Laurent Fignon, Guillotin, Abelard & Heloise, Ingres, Lalique, Marcel Marceau, Pissarro, Proust, Seurat, Simone Signoret, Alice B. Toklas, Richard Wright, etc., etc.

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  Tomb of Oscar Wilde
 
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  Père Lachaise, Chemin Errazu

Nora Ephron RIP - "What I Won't Miss" After I Die

Nora Ephron (1941-2012) was ill with leukemia for some time before her recent death.  She generously pre-planned her after-death plans so that her survivors don't have to figure them out for her and they can  grieve in peace.  An example of a portion of her thinking:

I have a letter now in my hands [from Nora]: “Came home (from Claudia Cohen’s funeral where you, Liz, say you want nothing like it). Told Nick to make sure when I died there was a funeral and not a memorial service. Please remind him. This is the real effect of all these funerals. They give us ideas for our own. I want a big deal, and I want everyone to be basket cases.”




Seeing death on her horizon she wrote 2 lists in her 2010 book, "I Remember Nothing:"

What I Will Miss

My kids · Nick · Spring · Fall · Waffles · The concept of waffles · Bacon · A walk in the park · The idea of a walk in the park · The park · Shakespeare in the Park · The bed · Reading in bed · Fireworks · Laughs · The view out the window · Twinkle lights · Butter · Dinner at home just the two of us · Dinner with friends · Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives · Paris · Next year in Istanbul · Pride and Prejudice · The Christmas tree · Thanksgiving dinner · One for the table · The dogwood · Taking a bath · Coming over the bridge to Manhattan · Pie

What I Won’t Miss

Dry skin · Bad dinners like the one we went to last night · E-mail · Technology in general · My closet · Washing my hair · Bras · Funerals · Illness everywhere · Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism · Polls · Fox · The collapse of the dollar · Joe Lieberman · Clarence Thomas · Bar mitzvahs · Mammograms · Dead flowers · The sound of the vacuum cleaner · Bills · E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it. · Small print · Panels on Women in Film · Taking off makeup every night

"Either This Wallpaper Goes Or I Do!"

Oscar Wilde said the above on his deathbed.  They were his last words before his death in a cheap Left-Bank hotel in Paris.

The Corpse Who Was Crowned Queen

In 1357 Dom Pedro became King Dom Pedro of Portugal.  In 1355 Pedro's father, then the King of Portugal, had had Pedro's wife/lover, Ines, assassinated.  She was stabbed to death and she was the love of Pedro's life.  Rumor is that when Pedro became King he exhumed her body, placed it on a throne next to his, put the crown on her skull and forced the entire court to swear allegiance to the dead Queen by kissing her bony hand.  He found 2 of the 3 murderers.  As they were tortured to death in a public square King Pedro watched from a balcony of the Royal Palace while he ate dinner.  One's heart was eventually pulled out of his body through his back and the other's heart was pulled out of his body through the chest.  Thereafter King Pedro became known as Pedro the Cruel.  Ines and Pedro have inspired poems, stories, literature, songs, etc. through the centuries.  Many call them the Romeo and Juliet of Portugal.  They are still remembered to this day in Portugal.  There is a Portuguese saying used in everyday life:  "Agora e tarde; Ines e morta" (It's too late; Ines is dead").

Hallowed Grounds=Overseas American Military Cemeteries-POPPIES! "In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow"

Around the world 125,000 American service men and women from World War I (30,000) and WW II (95,000) lay buried in foreign lands.  The bodies of about 40% of those killed abroad during these wars were allowed by their survivors to remain overseas.  Around 60% of those killed were returned to the United States at the request of their survivors.  94,000 from both wars are still missing.  Prior to WW I the bodies of soldiers, military nurses, etc. killed abroad were brought back to the U.S..

To honor the war dead and missing, the United States maintains 24 permanent military cemeteries overseas in 15 different countries.  These cemeteries help to illustrate the true cost of liberty.  Remember their sacrifice and courage.  A war poem from 1915 for you, "In Flanders Fields" written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow         In Flanders fields.

Monumental Cemetery=Abundance Of Artistic Tombs, Milan

In Milan, Italy the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano (Monumental Cemetery) is noted for its abundance of artistic tombs.  It opened in 1866.  It's really like a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden, certainly with a strong death theme.  It's worth looking online for pictures of the sculptures.  They're stunning and moving.  Take a peek at this one (!):

Facing End of Life Death (Frontline)

Frontline played "Facing Death" in 2010.  It deals with end of life issues, specifically in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital.  People used to visit the ICU to get better.  They would hopefully respond to treatment and walk out the door and go home.  Now people are going to ICUs to die.  More Americans now die in hospitals than anywhere else.  100,000 Americans are on life support, at a cost of  at least $20 billion annually.  Technology, medical technology,  improvements in medicine and medical care prolong life, but they do not cure death.  Plan ahead!  Have a Living Will ready.  Be kind to your survivors and pre-plan and pre-pay all of your end of life decisions:  full body burial, cremation, mausoleum, crypt, niche, etc.  You never know when you will die.

Mama's Funeral (by Elizabeth Cook)

Elizabeth Cook wrote this song about her own mother's funeral.  Find it and listen to her sing!:

Nah nah nah nah... 

At mama's funeral, organs didn't play 

But you could hear the lonesome sway 

Of the local guitar man 

He played Hank Williams songs 

We all did 'Farther Along' 

The boys drank beer out by the barn 

At mama's funeral 

Oh the birds showed up to sing 

As we gathered round the ole porch swing 

Where her feet had worn the paint off the boards 

And her pillow sat all faded and torn 

Her children all took turns 

Trying to find the words 

Just wantin to say something right 

Bout the best friend they'd found in life 

And explain it to the nurses that came from the hospital 

To mama's funeral 
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elizabeth+cook/mamas+funeral_20988709.html ] 
It was surprising to me, thought it'd be as hard as it could be 

But everybody took a little piece of pain 

And they spread it round like summer rain 

And it helped to ease the load 

More than I could've known 

At mama's funeral 

And my family made me proud 

Cause when the cryin got loud 

The laughter followed close behind 

Daddy'd say "now don't all remember the time..." 

Tables set up all over the place 

Covered with pictures, candles and lace 

The Quik Sack stayed open late 

Sold out of all their cups and paper plates 

To the strangers that gathered up on the hill 

For mama's funeral 

All the pretty flowers planted by her hands 

Her guitar in a corner sittin on a stand 

Nah nah nah nah...

Benjamin Franklin, Superstar ("Keystone Tombstones")

When Benjamin Franklin died 20,000 mourners attended his funeral at Christ Church in Philadelphia, PA in 1790.  By way of contrast the city's entire population in 1790 was 28, 522.  And when George Washington died 9 years later only 4,000 people attended his funeral.  Franklin and his wife are buried in a rather simple grave in Christ Church Burial Ground.  Rather than a headstone there is a large flat rectangular "ledger" gravestone which reads "Benjamin and Deborah Franklin:  1790."  People to this day leave coins on the gravestone as a gift to the departed.  Roughly $4,000 to $5,000 a year in coins are left on the grave.  This money is used for upkeep of the cemetery.

There's a great new book out called "Keystone Tombstones:  Volume One" (Sunbury Press, $19.95).  It's the first of 3 planned volumes.  The authors are long-time friends Joe Farley and Joe Farrell.   Profiles of 30 "famous" Pennsylvania grave sites are in this book, which includes biographical information and stories about a wide range of notable men and women buried in Pennsylvania (the Keystone State).

Thanks to Tirdad Derakshani's article, "State of Rest, Their Stories Are Carved In Stone", in the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 14, 2012.

$3 Million Tomb Raider Tomb Raid

Check this out from today's Philly.com, Philadelphia Inquirer:

Tomb Raid: Silicon Valley heir sues Levittown cemetery owner for $3M

Tom Gonzales and his son, Thomas J. Gonzales II, made a fortune from their company, Silicon Valley online-commerce pioneer Commerce One, before young Thomas' death from cancer, at 35, back in 2001.

The family buried him as befits a dot.com pioneer -- in a $3.2 million (plot included) white stone family mausoleum at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, Calif.
After Commerce One's bankruptcy and sale in 2004, the father relaunched himself as a real estate developer, built a $50 million family compound in Lake Tahoe (400-space garage, RV elevator), and sued a Silicon Valley charitable foundation over control of Thomas' estate, valued at $91 million in a 2007 court case.
But Thomas's mortal remains haven't been allowed to rest in peace.
In January thieves cut, pried and smashed their way past the mausoleum's chained steel doors and glass interior and stole the gold-colored metal urn containing the dead man's ashes.
Despite a $10,000 reward offer, the family says it has found no trace of urn or ashes.
So they want a refund. On Tuesday, Tom Gonzales sued Oakmont Memorial Park's owner, a unit of Levittown, Pa.-based StoneMor Partners LP, in the Contra Costa County court, alleging "negligent infilction of mental distress" and negligence in general. There'd been an attempted break-in a few nights before, which Gonzales says StoneMor's managers failed to report. 
Tom wants his $3.2 million back, plus money to build another mausoleum for surviving family members: Without Thomas' remains "the mausoleum is a useless structure, the sight of which causes Tom Gonzalez great pain and suffering."

StoneMor officials declined to comment. The company bought the cemetery as part of an acquisition after Gonzales' burial but before the theft.

Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano

St. Ursula and Her 11,000 Virgins

St. Ursula traveled from England to Rome in the 3rd century with 11,000 virgins.  On their return they were captured, tortured and killed by Huns in what is now Cologne, Germany.  Their remains were found in the 1100s.  The Church of St. Ursula is next to where the remains were found (or perhaps built  above where the bones were found?).  The bones were place inside the church in the Bone Room.  There are numerous reliquaries and skulls.  And many bones were attached to walls in the room.  Some bones were arranged into Latin words which read, "Holy Ursula, Pray For Us."

One Day Your Life Will Flash Before Your Eyes. Make Sure Its Worth Watching.

PREPARE TO MEET THY MAKER - Preplan!!

Alright a little melodramatic maybe.  But I cannot stress it often enough:  preplan your death, and pay for it.  It's a great gift to your survivors.

Tupac Shakur Burial = Available For Weddings Park Of Peace

Tupac never had a funeral. The private ceremony that his mother planned was canceled at the last minute, and the rapper was cremated, which is when shit got real: Shakur’s crew, the Outlawz, then mixed his ashes with weed and smoked him. Today, there’s a life-size Tupac statue and “peace garden” — which is apparently available for weddings — near Atlanta.

DIY-Build Your Own Coffin

Why not build your own . . . coffin.  There are actually a couple of books about this:  "Do-It-Yourself Coffins" and "Fancy Coffins To Make Yourself."  Ellen Degeneres quipped that they are the last books you'll ever need/read.

Saint Mundita, A Female Martyr, Circa 310 A.D., Spinsters Patron Saint

You will find a rather creepy attraction in the second chapel on the left. It contains the skeletal remains of St. Mundita. The skeleton is gold and covered with precious stones. Jewels adorn its rotted teeth and two false eyes stare out at visitors.

Saint Munditia, St Peter's Church, Munich

In St Peter's Church, Munich. Here's the Wikipedia link:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Munditia

This skeleton is encased in some kind of transparent fabric that has many jewels sewn into it. Strangely beautiful, but a bit unnerving too.

The tomb of Mundita, thought to be a second-century martyr, was given to Munich by Rome as a thanks and as a vivid reminder that those who die defending the Roman Church go directly to Heaven without waiting for judgment day.

It is thought that she was beheaded by a hatchet.  If you can see a close up of the jewels it's worth it.

She is the Patron Saint of Spinsters!