Ashes to Ashes

Things can get a little macabre from time to time in my world. Here's an example. I happened to be at a gathering of knitting designers today and we started talking about, of all things, our remains. It happens that designers, like artists, have a body of work, which they have accumulated over time. The question is what do you do with it, when your time has come?

There are considerations, such as, who has your passwords or who can access your Paypal account, should you suddenly cease to be. Have you made provisions for your estate to acquire any ongoing benefits from the sale of your designs, which may continue long after you aren't? These considerations apply, not just to knitters, but to anyone who makes money, particularly on-line.

There was also a discussion of contacting next of kin, if you happen to be an on-line friend, or a friend of a single dimension i.e. just knitting. Relationships, wherever they are started, still carry an emotional bond. People worry about you when you don't post, or don't show for guild meetings etc. Whom do they contact to find out if you are OK?

Scattered throughout this discussion were humorous anecdotes about dispersement of ashes, or not, as the case maybe. I had to confide that I still had my mother's ashes in my top drawer. Another designer mentioned a story that she had written after breakfast one day. Apparently there was a box on the breakfast table and when she asked what it was, her mother answered, "It's aunt 'toots'." Yes there are more ways than one to have dinner, or breakfast with a relative :)

There were the usual (or unusual) discussions of giving your body to science. Anyone who had studied medicine had a cadaver tale. I mentioned the story of the poet, Dorothy Parker, who willed her ashes to her worst enemy. This enemy, in turn, decided not to retrieve her bequest, leaving Dorothy, or reasonable facsimile there of, to languish in a filing cabinet in her lawyer's office for years. Finally the NAACP claimed her remains, as she had left her entire estate to them. They created a memorial garden for her final resting place.

Just a thought. Maybe it's time to keep a file of those passwords and pass them on to someone you trust, who will look after your interests, when you no longer can. Maybe you should also create a final post with instructions for someone to post it in the various groups you are part of, just to let people know what has happened.  We are a caring lot!!

The picture? One of my designs for a lace scarf.

Have a thoughtful day!!