News out of Rochester, New Hampshire: Diane Bozzi regularly took the ashes of her mother to Bingo games for good luck. Then she had a run of bad luck – the urn containing her good luck ashes was stolen out of her van last week. But, oh happy day! – the urn has been returned.
Diane Bozzi and her mother loved playing Bingo together. Before her mother died in 2002, Bozzi promised her mother to take some of her ashes with her to play. Her mother agreed, saying she would bring Bozzi luck.
The urn with Mom’s ashes was sitting in a bag in Bozzi’s van, ready to go to a Bingo game, when it was stolen out of the vehicle. Bozzi made a public plea for the urn’s return (with the ashes).
Police said the urn was returned to Diane Bozzi sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. They have no suspects. The story doesn’t indicate how the urn was returned (put on the daughter’s front step? placed back in the van?).
This is an interesting development in the living’s use of the deceased’s remains. The problem with portability is the ability to lose ashes.
When ashes are buried or placed in a niche, at least you know the remains are reasonably safe to stay where they are. And if they are scattered in a particular place that is special to the deceased or their family, at least those living individuals know where to find them.
The moral of the story: Keep your lucky ashes as if they were diamonds – don’t leave them in the car!