BURNING OUT: WHAT REALLY HAPPENS INSIDE A CREMATORIUM

[central scrutinizer]

6. That is what Ms. Scrutinizer wanted

She died 13 months ago from pancreatic cancer. Family and friends contributed pieces they had knitted, crocheted, embroidered, sewn and all of these were sewn together to make a burial shroud (only natural fibers, no synthetics). Her brothers made a shrouding board from untreated pine. No embalming, the body was kept refrigerated until the burial. Her body was wrapped in the shroud, strapped to the board and lowered into the grave. We shoveled the dirt back in ourselves. Cathartic process, lots of sobbing as we created and assembled the shroud. In 25 years if the space is needed, the grave will be reopened, any remaining bones will be reinterred in a deeper hole below the existing one.