Nilly, as mentioned a few times last month, I attended my first Jewish festival. I was exposed to the tradition of attendees shoveling dirt onto the coffin.

Wow. I feel kind shaky thinking about it. It was my first closed-casket funeral. There's something chilling about an open casket, but it really hammered home the finality of the thing.

Hearing the dirt hit the coffin, the hollow thump? Worked just as well, and just as chillingly. I was not expecting that.

Cocaine's fucked up, man.

It's a hell of a drug.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Best Chappelle skit ever.

I was cracking up at "Every Breath You Take." Yes, I'll be stalking you even from BEYOND THE GRAVE....

You beat me to it. Lawd, lawd. Singing about surveillance at funerals and weddings. Sting's eyes must roll down the street every time he hears that.

Than again, I sang Why Should I Cry For You? over my father's coffin, so I guess I have no dog in that race.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Best Chappelle skit ever.

It is hilarious, but I still have to go with "Does Wayne Brady have to choke a bitch?"

Wayne Brady is right up there. I may need to bust out the DVDs and watch these again.

Hearing the dirt hit the coffin, the hollow thump? Worked just as well, and just as chillingly. I was not expecting that.

In a fully strict religious Jewish funeral, unless there's something to prevent it, there is no casket. OK, I'm whitefonting now. It's difficult for me to type, so not everybody should be exposed to reading this: The body is wrapped in a simple white fabric. It looks so small, there's nothing that delivers so pointedly, to me, the extent of the fragility of the flesh, the weakness, and the this-can't-be-all-there-is aspects of life and death. It's never not-chilling, it never fails to make me wonder how small the physical form of the person is, no matter how big and important their life was.

Also, we hardly ever put flowers on tombstones. Usually, we lay small stones there.

Ack! That would have laid me low, Nilly. I'm sorry to make you type difficult things, but glad to have the information.

I'm sorry to make you type difficult things, but glad to have the information.

No, it's OK. It's difficult for me because of *me*, you know? Especially after a day like yesterday, which was all about the spiritual (with the fast as a way to try and be less about the physical), it's a not-so-easy reminder. I guess I'm still in a bit of "thinking seriously about the Big Stuff" sort of mood.

Wow. That's kind of incredible. I mean in the good way, not the I-don't-believe-it way. I feel like the best thing end-of-life rituals can do is make you focus on the life lived, not on the trappings.

Nilly! Hi! Did you see the Matilda (and Emmett) pictures in Beep me?