, Research Paper
How to plan for a funeral
The topic of my research assignment is planning and the steps to take when there is a death in the family. My search brought me to Granby s funeral home on White Plains road. There I discovered the truth of how expensive the funeral process is and the benefits to yourself and your family for the simple act of pre-planning.
It was a cold Halloween afternoon; I thought to myself what better day to go to a funeral home than on this day of the dead. On that note I set off to a funeral home that I saw near a day care center that I used to work for. The name of the place was Granby s funeral home and I proceeded to walk in. A strange fellow that asked what was our business greeted me. I answered, high school students doing a project. He then responded, excellent Lady Granby will see you personally. I interjected no thanks and decided to interview the strange fellow.
I think that it was the overall atmosphere of this place or maybe the dirty angel in the corner that made that made me fear Lady Granby. He then explained to me the proper procedure to take care of the deceased. He said that the first thing to do in that situation is to call him. The funeral home sends a hearse to pickup the body. At this point he sat me down and handed me a pamphlet with prices for services and even package deals. I thought to myself that is the extra value meal of the macabre. Anyway at this point the mortician embalms the body with embalming fluids and gets the corpse ready for dressing. Dressing consists of make-up and usually the family will bring clothes for the deceased to wear. After the dressing the funeral services are made and is largely influenced by the religion and beliefs of the family. Granby s themselves have services in the home, but charge more than having the viewing in a church. This is the final step before the burying. (if you choose burial) The gentleman said that although the home is in the Bronx most of the bodies are buried in Rose Hill NJ. The reason for this I inferred was some deal between the home and the cemetery. This whole process can range from $5,000 to $17,000 outside the charge for a casket. Seventeen thousand dollars , the price to graduate to the great beyond is almost identical to the price for graduate college. With that I bidded adieu to the bloke and was on my way home.
The most frightening thing that happened to me that day was seeing the astonishing prices of the funeral packages. The man warned me that preplanning was a sign of kindness and thoughtfulness to your family I suddenly realized that like every other commodity in America funerals too had become commercialized. Even to the help with bereavement pamphlets on the side realized that it was all for image. The death industry is one that I am prone to invest in someday. When you think about it someone dies every second of everyday and the funeral people cash big time off of it. The best example was the range for the coffins $120 for a standard Count Dracula cloth covered wooden one to $32000 for a coffin that the man had never seen. $32000?! I told the man for that I want to be buried in a Honda civic.