So it turns out the lease payment is going towards funeral-type expenses after all, just as I feared. The body donor program can't take him due to his condition. Fortunately I do have the money, I'll just have to save up the rest towards the cataract surgery later.

I pity the bereaved who have no warning, who have no chance to rehearse, to plan contingencies for coping. It can suck to be strong, to have to carry others, but it's better than being a helpless lump on the floor.

Ugh. I hope you find an option that feels right for you.

Yes, as much as it is a horror to lose your loved one with some advance warning, it is that much more to deal with the sudden unanticipated loss. All in all, either sucks mightily.

Ah, crap, Connie, I'm sorry.

I find myself talking to my bobble-head Phil Coulson on my desk. "Isn't that right, Plastic Phil?" And he nods.

Connie, I am so sorry.

Plastic Phil is wise.

I'm sorry, Connie. There are non-medical scientific uses for bodies, such as the body farm in Tennessee. Would you like me to check around?

You guys both loved Firefly, right Connie? As demo'd by Zoe, white is the Chinese color for mourning, IIRC.

Thanks, Ginger, but one of the things dragging on me is having him waiting for resolution. We thought it would be a simple matter of telling the relevant department at the University, but then we ran into "I don't know" and "I'll have to check" and all that. It's not what he would have wanted, but he wouldn't want this to be a burden, either.

White is a very sensible color--if I learn to eat more tidily.