On Ancesters and Death

I received an email today from a gentleman with an interest in family tree and family history software. I suppose because I often write about deceased family members in this blog, he felt I was interested in family history.

My friend, Toad has a blog, http://yourethicalwill.blogspot.com/
dedicated to preparing what he calls “Ethical Wills”, a way of “keeping your values, stories, and wisdom alive for future generations”. I have read it and daydreamer that I am, have actually thought about it, and I have come to these conclusions:

I am self-centered, I am only interested in my family and the people that I actually knew and cared about in life. The rest of them are names in the dust, chiseled on mossy old granite markers, or on the back page of a musty bible. They are just names. I don’t feel anything for them.

And now the other thing: When I die I want a short note in the newspaper so friends are informed of my passing. There should be no mention of how I earned my keep or what a terrific person I was. Those who knew me know where I worked and whether I was a worthwhile person or not, and it’s not the concern of the creepy funeral followers. I want to be cremated and have the ashes spread anywhere other than a cemetery. If those left behind feel they have to visit me (which is to me a bizarre concept) they can spread them someplace pleasant. When those who knew me in life also die, I want to have my existence on earth, my life slate, wiped clean.