Hate them. I mean, really, who thought it was a good idea to have people view the deceased person? And with the family lined up next to the casket, you can't avoid walking by it...and glancing, of course. Lets not forget the "he/she looks so natural" comments. Um, no. He/she doesn't. They look dead.
Yes, I'm ranting about this because my poor gramps probably won't last the weekend, so I get to fly to Iowa for the visitation/funeral. I'd rather celebrate the wonderful life he had.....instead of crying over a casket. I love my gramps but I absolutely do not look foward to this trip.
Just went through this myself w/ my FIL. My wife's half-sis took it really hard, she's 21 and been basic caregiver for past 3 yrs. She kept taking a letter out of his shirt pocket that she'd written, and fiddling w/ a pack of cigs she'd stuck in his pocket and generally poking and prodding and touching, which made me REALLY uncomfortable. Never seen so much of that before. Very long 2 days.
As for me, lock it up and stick a picture of when I looked good right on top. In fact, Viking burials are looking better and better.
One of my college roommates (and he had gone to my high school for a couple of years) died a little while back. He had an open casket funeral. It was incredibly sad. In general obviously but also because he was 23 years old and his mom had already lost her husband and now her only child. She pretty much sobbed through the whole thing looking at his body.
And then you have to talk to people that you haven't seen in forever and it's just a ridiculous social situation. I hate funerals and especially open caskets. No funeral for me. I need to write a will.
My roommate/best friend from college died in 1999 from lymphoma. His body was so ravaged from the disease that he was unrecognizable, and for some strange reason his family decided on a open casket.
I have spent the last 9 years trying to erase that final vision of him from my brain and remember him as the vibrant, wonderful person that he was.
my ex-girlfriend was shot in the head and they had an open casket..
i will never, ever, ever forget that..
and i didn't even know it was an open casket.. i walked around the
corner and headed into the church and BAM.. right there in front of
you.. no chance to slowly approach it or even to avoid it even if
you wanted to..
