I thought I'd heard everything about funerals when the church wanted to charge us to use their facilities to eulogize my beloved grandmother in March. However, I now know that we really got off good.
One of my cousins in Texas lost her grandmother recently, and my mother went to the service. Mom said that from the family singers to the interpretive dance, it was a real production. They even videotaped the service. Now as bad as that whole thing was to me, I was TOTALLY unprepared for Mom's next statement. My cousin -- who was as disgusted by the situation as I was -- told her that they -- whomever had the bright idea to tape the service -- would be selling the tapes for $6 each.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't understand why a person would tape a funeral in the first place. I understand having recorded evidence of family events. Graduations, weddings, christenings, etc.; yes. Funerals? No. Of all the days I want to revisit, the burial of my beloved Granny is not one of them. There will never be a moment when I'm sitting around with my friends and I'll say, "Oh, let's watch Granny's funeral." It's just not gonna happen. I remember too many details of that fateful day as it is.
And to charge for it? That's just too much. Like I've said before, I can understand that concept of getting paid. Seriously. If I perform a service, I want to be properly compensated. But we've got to get away from taking people's money when they're grieving.
*Just in case you didn't get the C.R.E.A.M. reference, it's from a Wu-Tang Clan song. It stands for "cash rules everything around me."
One of my cousins in Texas lost her grandmother recently, and my mother went to the service. Mom said that from the family singers to the interpretive dance, it was a real production. They even videotaped the service. Now as bad as that whole thing was to me, I was TOTALLY unprepared for Mom's next statement. My cousin -- who was as disgusted by the situation as I was -- told her that they -- whomever had the bright idea to tape the service -- would be selling the tapes for $6 each.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't understand why a person would tape a funeral in the first place. I understand having recorded evidence of family events. Graduations, weddings, christenings, etc.; yes. Funerals? No. Of all the days I want to revisit, the burial of my beloved Granny is not one of them. There will never be a moment when I'm sitting around with my friends and I'll say, "Oh, let's watch Granny's funeral." It's just not gonna happen. I remember too many details of that fateful day as it is.
And to charge for it? That's just too much. Like I've said before, I can understand that concept of getting paid. Seriously. If I perform a service, I want to be properly compensated. But we've got to get away from taking people's money when they're grieving.
*Just in case you didn't get the C.R.E.A.M. reference, it's from a Wu-Tang Clan song. It stands for "cash rules everything around me."
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