The Family Plot Blog
A Good Goodbye TV Wins Press Women Award
The 12-episode TV series A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die took first place in the television talk show category of New Mexico Press Women's 2014 Communications Contest. Contest Chair Sherry Robinson presented program host and producer Gail Rubin with an award certificate at today's meeting of Albuquerque Press Women. The program now goes on to national level competition in the contest conducted by the National...
“I Don’t Want to be a Burden” – Five Funeral Planning Tips
In today's Dear Abby column, a single person with grown children wrote in saying, "I want to make sure I am not a burden to them even after death. I have a will and no bills. What else do I need to do?" The correspondent poses a great end-of-life preparation question. Dear Abby replied with questions about whether he/she had an advance directive for health care, at least one health care advocate named to carry out those wishes, a cemetery plot...
Discussing Death and Dying with Joan Gibson
When Joan Gibson's daughter was in kindergarten, she told her teacher, "My mother does death and dying. At the time she was teaching and consulting on bioethics and help draft New Mexico’s first Right to Die law in 1977. Gibson went on to promote advance directives and in the late 1980s created the Values History Form, a widely available document that invites people to talk about their values and what’s important to them. The information serves...
The Life Chest at ICCFA 2014
Among the interesting products for memorialization on display at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) expo, The Life Chest was unique. The Life Chest provides a special place to keep treasures, both tangible and intangible. These special boxes serve as a stylish time capsule to hold stories and memories, family collectibles and keepsakes. They are meant to have a place in the home, on display and readily...
News and Notes: Back From the Dead!
A Good Goodbye is back from the dead. From April 22 to 27, the website was offline due to programming issues related to a WordPress upgrade (they seem to create more problems than they solve). Thanks to everyone who noticed! While struggling to get back online, plus traveling to the Association for Death Education and Counseling conference in Baltimore, emails were suspended. Because of those issues, you may have missed a few radio shows. Tips...
Holy Land Stone Keepsakes and Memorialization
There's something about the white limestone found in Jerusalem that makes a huge impression on everyone who visits. For one family, it became a ministry and a business. In this video recorded at the 2014 ICCFA convention and expo, Penny Martin, President of Holy Land Stone, talks about how her husband Jim was inspired by the sight of Jerusalem at sunset, it's limestone walls reflecting the golden light. He wanted a souvenir of the stone as a...
What Medical Professionals Need to Know About NDEs
Although media depictions of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) present mysterious, inexplicable psychic events, they are normal and fairly common in today's advanced medical settings. About 5% of patients report having NDEs, but the figure may actually be higher because patients are often reluctant to disclose their experiences. Although some patients who have had NDEs may be treated appropriately by medical professionals, others may be ignored,...
Cremation Money and Houses for the Great Beyond
In Asian funeral traditions, prior to cremation, the deceased is showered with tools for their journey beyond this earthly existence. This includes money and a home in which to live. Jewell Wu from Taiwan with Jun Guang Yi Enterprises talks about their products for cremation, including fake paper money and paper houses. The idea behind the Asian tradition of putting fake money in the casket before the deceased is cremated is to send loved ones...
Mourning Cross Pins
Kate Hamilton with Mourning Cross talks about the pins her company provides to help identify those family members who are grieving a loss. They can be worn as long as a mourner feels the need to identify as someone who has suffered a death in the family. It's a new take on the genteel tradition of black arm bands and other signs of being in mourning. The pins are also helpful for hospice workers who become close to the families and patients...
Funny Films Can Help Foster Pre-Need Funeral Planning
Comedy films that make us laugh can also help us relax into having funeral planning conversations with our loved ones. From cult classics like The Big Lebowski to true stories like Bernie and Get Low, the magic of Hollywood can put the “fun” in funeral arrangements, BEFORE there’s a death in the family. Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death®, uses funny films in her public presentations to attract people to discuss serious topics like funeral...
Shrouds and Green Burial Products
Since today's A Good Goodbye Radio show is about the green burial documentary A Will for the Woods, here's a short video about green burial products, filmed at the recent ICCFA convention and expo. Esmerelda Kent was a costume designer in Hollywood, until she saw the TV show Six Feet Under. It prompted her to make a career change, and she went into the death care industry - but focused on green burial. Her first shroud was featured in the show,...
News and Notes: Death and Taxes
It's April 15, and that means your tax returns are due! For a timely laugh on death and taxes, check out this Non Sequitur cartoon. A group of people are standing around a grave in a cemetery. The headstone reads, "Never have to pay taxes again!" A woman says, "He always looked for the bright side of everything." Here's hoping you are able to look on the bright side, too, even when we look at death and taxes. Last week's International Cemetery,...
An Afikomen Song for Passover
Passover starts tomorrow night, and here at the Rubin-Bleicher household, we are getting ready to have 17 people come for the seder and dinner. Why is this night different from all other nights? Don't ask! (How often do you have so many people come to dinner, plus cleaning out leavened food products and making special dishes for the seder?) Singing is a big part of the seder, and there are a number of songs written to the tune of songs in...
A Will for the Woods Puts a Human Face on Green Burial
While the nationwide cremation rate in the United States has shot up more than 11% between 2007 to 2012, there's also a growing interest in green burial. There aren't hard statistics, but a building cache of anecdotes indicate more and more people would like to return to the earth as naturally as possible. A Will for the Woods, a 2013 documentary, focuses on musician, folk dancer, and psychiatrist Clark Wang as he prepares for his own death and...
ICCFA Expo Opening and The Body Bag Store
If you've ever wondered what funeral directors go shopping for at a convention, I'm bringing you an insider's look from the Expo at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. The Expo brings together products and services that you never knew existed for cemeteries, funeral homes, and cremationists. I had a great conversation with two representatives of American Airlines Cargo and U.S. Airways Cargo about regulations...
News and Notes: This Won’t Stay in Vegas
This is the week for the All Star convention and expo of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA), taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to presenting a breakout session later this week, I will be covering the Expo for The Family Plot Blog. Look for blog posts on the many interesting elements of the funeral/cremation business you never knew existed! Also, for Breaking Bad fans, there's a feature story I...
Jewish Funeral Traditions and Superstitions on DVD
Are you in an interfaith couple and have no clue about funeral traditions on the Jewish side of the family? Have you ever attended a Jewish funeral and wondered why things were done the way they were? At the funeral of my great-aunt Mary when I was in my early 20s, the Jewish funeral traditions I encountered confused me. Even though I had a good Jewish education, grew up in a Conservative congregation, attended Sunday School and Hebrew School,...
When a Loved One is Dying: The Soul Sitter’s Handbook
People are afraid of death and being around the dying. They are afraid they will say or do something wrong. Your presence can be a great gift, if you check your ego at the door. Stacey Canfield and Candace Conradi, authors of The Soul Sitter’s Handbook, join host Gail Rubin on A Good Goodbye Radio on Wednesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT on TogiNet Talk Radio to discuss what to do to ease anxiety when a loved one is dying. Download...
Options for Cremated Remains: A Good Goodbye TV
Cremation opens the door to many different options for families when it comes to keeping the cremated remains of a loved one around the house. In this segment from A Good Goodbye TV, host Gail Rubin discusses options for cremated remains with Tom Antram, president and CEO of FRENCH Funerals-Cremations and Buck Dyck, FRENCH location manager. This episode was all about cremation issues. Among the options discussed are artful urns, glass...
News and Notes: Laughing at Adversity
Humor is therapeutic. When we can laugh at our troubles, we can lighten up adverse situations and better deal with stress and sorrow. Allen Klein, author of 15 books including The Healing Power of Humor and Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying: Embracing Life After Loss, has walked that road himself. He calls himself the world's only Jollytologist®, spreading good news about the life-changing benefits of humor. Allen Klein is my guest on...
Online Planners to Help You Put It All Together
The New York Times recently ran a "Your Money" story about online sites that can securely store your funeral planning and financial information for your family to access in the event of your death. Titled "Navigating the Logistics of Death Ahead of Time," this article highlights one new company, called Everplans, a website that helps people create detailed end-of-life plans. From the article: "The site, which she [Abby Schneiderman] founded...