My Funeral

It's probably weird to be planning my funeral now, and I'm not, really. I'm just planning the music. Anyone who knows me would know that music is the only part of my funeral that I would care about. It's not that I obsess about it or anything, but I've always been jealous of sports stars who get "introduction music" that plays as they take the field. They get to choose one song to represent them at that moment. If I were a sports star, I'd probably choose this song to take the field. But I'm not, and it looks pretty certain that I won't ever be. So, my version of that will be my funeral. I've thought about this since I was in high school (and those of you who knew me then, know that it would have been a really weird, loud, silly funeral). As I have grown, I have realized the gravity of the event for those who attend should preclude most silliness (funerals are not for the dead, after all). Anyway, I thought about stealing the opening sequence to the movie Big Chill ("You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones (can't find a link), but, as I got older, I thought about who would be there and how long it would have been since I saw them last and the message that I would want to leave them with...my last wish...and this would be it The beauty of this song is that the writer (Warren Zevon) knew that he was dying when he wrote it and that makes it all the more poignant...and I think the song kind of echoes what we all want after we die...to be remembered.
As for the rest of the funeral, it really doesn't matter to me. Whatever is easiest on the ones left to deal with my remains is fine. If everyone is graveside (or whatever) and there's a boombox there that plays that song, that's fine. Believe me, I started out with an entire funeral album of songs that I wanted...most of them entirely inappropriate for a funeral and some of them beyond bizarre; but I realized that it would fall on the ears of people that I love and respect and that a certain decorum was in order.
Well, that's what was on my mind this Saturday evening. I don't know if blogs count as wills or any sort of directive after you die, but there it is.

By the way, please add Cinco de Mayo to the days that you should avoid Wal-Mart if you can.