Fly'Bye Lady Visit In Florida
Think back to school days of
your youth. Do you recall that the
piercing blast of your alarm clock was more tolerable on days when you would be
leaving the school building for a class outing of some sort? Wasn’t it easier to rouse yourself from
cozy doldrums of denial between the sheets? Well, perhaps the same mechanism might do the trick when
attempting to muster up motivation to shed your shrouds of avoidance and
explore the death domain.
Prospects for a peek at funerary action in the real world to transcend
the usual informative resources just might awaken you gently to fresh
perspectives.
So here’s an opportunity to
take a virtual jaunt to sunny Florida by way of reading a synopsis of my
recent travels. A quest for
funerary insights gleaned from a different part of the country led The FLY-'BYE Lady to
“snowbird” territory.
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ST. PETERSBURG
The Anderson-McQueen
Funeral Home encompasses four
facilities – two funeral homes, a crematorium, and a cemetery. This family-owned establishment has
incorporated amenities that epitomize finer details. At one of their sites, besides the fresh-baked cookies and
Starbucks coffee available for guests, an automated grand piano in the
welcoming entry space generates background ambience (perhaps to connote that life goes on even in the absence of "the player"?). At both funeral homes, a
room accommodates guests for catered receptions – a service increasingly
provided in states where food is permitted in funeral homes. Brightly decorated playrooms are geared
toward children’s comfort in a milieu conducive to helping them cope with
issues of death.
But certain features stand
out from the usual ones. One of
their buildings is designed in a square configuration so that all of the rooms
face a central aviary full of vivacious and colorful birds. Upon entering what some people might
wrongly assume would be a “den of death,” one is struck by their
liveliness. When the chapel
curtains are open, the aviary is a backdrop for either a commemorative affair
or a funeral service with a centrally located casket accentuated symbolically
by spirited possibilities beyond demise.
A separate pet crematory and
pet hearse complement the human ministrations that are offered, based on
acknowledgment that loss of such companions potentially evokes grieving and the
need to mourn. A room for
visitation and even a memorial service is designed specifically to regard pet
loss, with a padded cushion for the animal on an altar up front, a waterfall,
relevant wall photos, and comfortable chairs around the perimeter.
Beyond such appointments,
though, is the reason why this particular enterprise has drawn the attention of
mavericks in the industry as well as consumers. Located within their crematory, equipment for a water-based
alternative to flame cremation has been installed and is now operational. Anderson-McQueen took the plunge and is
almost the first provider in this country to offer alkaline hydrolysis for
humans, seemingly a fast-approaching wave of the future. Approval has been secured in seven
states so far, but is pending in fifteen others. Whether this methodology or standard cremation is chosen,
guests here can be seated in spaces that face windows for observation. For
cremation, they can even begin the incendiary process via a control panel
discreetly positioned on the wall.
*****
Note to providers of services and products:
If you operate a business venture that you'd like The Fly-'Bye Lady to visit, contact her for consideration and possible inclusion in plans for future meanderings and follow-up blog entries.
Send requests or comments to: passages@ponderingleaves.com
