Week 9 Thursday, Mar 31 2011

My biggest concerns about burial arrangements would have to be the embalming procedure. The process includes draining all the blood out of the body. While replacing it with a fluid. This fluid is used to keep the body from rotting so fast and also for preservation. Once the fluid is injected it makes the body look fuller, and can even help to hide some of the imperfections of that person’s body. This type of fluid can also be used to make your nails grown. Another fact I found out about is that embalming fluid is being used as a drug and can be worth a lot of money. Something that bothers me about after life is the fact that no one knows for sure what happens. I was taught about heaven and hell just like everyone else. Does this really happen who can say for sure. I believe that your soul is reborn into another. That our great leaders of now are our great leaders of yesterday. That when my grandmother died her soul was reborn into my little cousin. They act so much alike it’s kind of crazy. Another issue I have with burial arrangements are open casket funerals. I fully understand that you will never see that person again, but I thought that is what pictures are for. Why do we believe in seeing people before they are put to rest. I can find a few different ways of how this is kind of wrong. How did we come to the rituals that we have today. Back in the day people were just thrown in a hole and left there to rot because families didn’t have the funds to bury there loved ones. How did we come to caskets, memorial services, and a reception afterwards. I understand celebrating death, but  the last rebirth I attended everyone forgot that we had been to a funeral just an hour before.

Leave a Response »

 

Week 8 Tuesday, Mar 15 2011

Daniel Moses Barker, guitarist, banjoist, singer and composer: born New Orleans 13 January 1909; married Louise DuPont; died in New Orleans 13 March 1994. There is a useful breed of jazz musician whose love of the music is so strong that it turns them into not only players of the music but into historians too. The pianist Nat Pierce was one such and the tenorist Ben Webster another. Danny Barker’s span of more than 60 years as a professional guitar player based in New Orleans, and his voluble and expressive way with anecdote, made him into the best of the many historians to detail the jazz lives of that remarkable city. Nobody else worked closely with both the legendary jazz artist who had a leading hand in evolving Bebop, the modern jazz of the Forties. Barker’s New Orleans pedigree was impeccable. On the other side my mother’s brothers Paul Barbarin, Louis Barbarin, Lucien Barbarin, Willie Barbarin, they was steeped in music, that was all they talked around the house was music, you know, jazz. His grandfather, Isidore Barbarin, was a member of the famous Onward Brass band, from the period 1890 to 1930 considered the greatest brass band in New Orleans.The Barbarins taught Barker to play clarinet, ukelele and banjo. He spent his childhood in Storyville, the legendary ‘sporting’ district of the city where those with a vested interest in having it thus will tell you that jazz was born. Barker’s friend Alyn Shipton, an English publisher who edited the guitarist’s first volume of autobiography, A Life in Jazz , was working with him on the second, to cover his Storyville years, at the time of Barker’s death. Barker remained sprightly and mentally aware in his old age and was still playing professionally in New Orleans up to Christmas last year when a second serious illness he had already defeated lung cancer forced his retirement.

One Response »

 

Week 7 Tuesday, Mar 15 2011

If I died at 90:

Danielle Alexis Verrette 90 of Baton Rouge, LA, lost her fight with cancer Tuesday, March 1, 2080 at 9:00a.m. She was cared for by her two lovely children Kennedy Lawrence 30, and Kenneth James 32. Four grandchildren Tevis James, Jasmine James, Julie Lawrence, and Janet Lawrence. Also one brother Drexel Verrette along with one niece Angela Verrette. Presiding her in death is her husband Robert James of Donaldsonville. She was a very successful lawyer with two well-known law firms in California and Illinois. They will now be under the supervision of her children. Danielle was very happy with her life and her children. She graduated from Xavier University in 2014 in Political Science where she started her work in the peace corps in Spain. She then came back to the states where she received her law degree and started her work as one of the most well known divorce attorneys in the country. Services will be held on March 5th at 10a.m. at Pointee Coupee Funeral Home. Burial will be followed in Baton Rouge Louisiana at Greenville Memorial Park. The family would like all flower and presents sent to the funeral home.

Danielle  Alexis Verrette, 20 Baton Rouge, LA, lost her life to a drunk driver on March 29, 2011 at 2:00a.m. she was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced died immediately. She was freshmen at Xavier University of Louisiana studying Political Science. She leaves behind a mother Irma White, Father Drexel Verrette, Stepfather Joseph White, and little brother Drexel Verrette.  Also caring family members and lots of friends. Her services will take place at Verrette’s Pointe Coupee Funeral Home in New Roads, Louisiana viewing will start on April 5th at 9p.m. and services will begin April 7th at 10a.m. burial will be at Greenville Memorial Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Danielle you were very loved and appreciated and may you rest in peace.

Leave a Response »

 

Post 6 Sunday, Feb 27 2011

I posted comments on the following post:

1.) Pldavis

2.)ahampto3

3.) dionnes

Leave a Response »

 

Post 5 Sunday, Feb 6 2011

While reading about the way other cultures look at death I feel all of them are a little different. How some cultures believes that demons are the reason for death and how it is a punishment for one’s sins. I don’t really believe that, I believe that you die because your body gets tired or you do something that your body can’t recover from. The belief I think we go by the most is God is ready for you. This when people believe it is your time to die not based on science, but more on religion. Death to me is more on a scientific level like I said your body gets tired or it just can not recover from an illness or other natural case. Most cultures believe that death is something evil and that it should not happen. I understand how some cultures may feel this way at those times when things happened most people did not truly understand what was happening and they where scared. I think the US looks at death as a way to make money. By giving americans many different options oh how to bury people. Funerals are just for show and fashion, yet we spend so much money on caskets and clothes and makeup. These things cost so much yet we still spend the money to make our dead relatives look good. For to decay and rot for the rest of time, to me this is uncalled for. The only thing I find remarkable about our death rituals would have to be how at a funeral you get to see all the family that you most likely haven’t seen in years or since the last funeral. Though I do feel that death is a time when you need family that should not be the only time you see family.

Leave a Response »

 

Post 4 Sunday, Feb 6 2011

While reading the two articles On the Fear of Death and Faceing One’s Own Death, I learned that there are five stages to death: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.These are the steps that Ross the author believes are the stages of death. He goes into deatail about each stage and how they relate to death. Denial is when you believe that death isn’ t real or it can’t happen to you. Anger is when you blame everyone else for what is about to happen to you. Bargaining is when you have a talk with God, as if he is going to give more time in exchange for following hime. Depression is when you know your about to die and you want to be left alone. Acceptance is when you except that your about to die and youe okay with this now. I can see how the author came to these conclusions. I have seen these steps in relatives when there about to die. When it comes to death I’m not scaried I accept death for what it is and when it is my time it is my time. I look at it as a cycle of life we all have to die sometime, just like walking or learning how to drive. We all have to do it sometime, it just so happens that it is one of the less painful experiences in life. I dont’t look forward to death, but I do understand that someday it will be my turn to die and I’m ready when that time comes. I do see why people are scared and why it bothers them so much it can be a scary thing. Just like going to school for the first time its scary, yet you know you have to do it eventually.

Leave a Response »

 

Post 3 Sunday, Feb 6 2011

The people I have chosen to work with on our serves learning project are Destiny Love, Dionne Spatcher, Christopher Chance. We have chosen to do reseach on Danny Baker a famous musician from the 1900’s. He had one of the most celebrated funerals of his time. He is now buried in St. Louis Cemetery #2. He seemed to me to be one of the more interesting people to choose from. Danny  Baker along with others changed music for alot of people. Danny Baker is the nephew of the great Paul Barbarin. According to the article I read the Barbarin family where very well known for jazz. They traveled the south and were loved by many. Danny Baker was not your average jazz muscian he was also a jazz reseacher. He went around interveiwing the older muscians and the people that loved jazz. He is one of the reasons today that we have any information on jazz music today. At that time people weren’t really worried about jazz.  At that time the only people that seemed to care about jazz were the people that loved jazz and the muscians. Because of Danny Baker we have most of the inforation we have today about jazz music. Danny Baker is also a published author of the book The Last Days of Storyville. In this book he talks about his experiences with other jazz muscians  how they saw jazz music.  The last memories he had of the good ole days he calls it; he states “When music was music then he and everyone else were happy”. Before this book Danny was known more for his banjo and guitar playing for various bands. Playing for various bands was very common in this day and age.

Leave a Response »

 

Post 2 Sunday, Feb 6 2011

After reading about Save our Cemetery’s , I learned that they do a big service to the community. With out there help we will never know about our history or ancestors. This is important to me because judging on your ancestors can tell you who you can become later on in life. They can help you to understand death and truly how wonderful it can be. Death can be a beautiful thing if you see things from the prospective of Save our Cemetery’s. When you go to a cemetery some of the first things that hit you might be: sadness, disgusted, and/or fear. You may feel sad going to visit a relative, be disgused or fearful of death. Some of the same things I feel when I first go to one, but have you ever thought about who may be buried there or what might have happened to some of the people there. How did some of these people die I’ve learned that there are some very interesting ways to die these days. To me this makes a cemetery interesting, not in a way I want to visit one on a regular basis. To the point I may want to do research on some of the cemeteries in my area. I recently looked up some of my favorite old actors and such and found out that most of them are buried in plain old regular cemeteries, nothing  special like Micheal Jackson or anything. Some are even buried in unmarked tombs somewhere. By working with Save our Cemeteries they may be able to help find some of these lost greats that have been forgotten about all this time. Also while reading the website I discovered that there are alot of ways to proserve a cemetery you can’t just put people there and believe that they can take care of themselves, they can’t.

Leave a Response »

 

Week 1 Funerals Monday, Jan 17 2011

When I was little I attended a lot of funerals, it was my grandfathers way of making us more comfortable with death. He owns to this day the first funeral home with a drive through window. He was hoping that me or my brother would take over the business for him one day, that’s so not happening. Well at the end of the day the most memorable funeral I attended when I was a little girl has to be my Great Grandmother’s. Mrs. Irma Jean Verrette, she was a spunky old lady so full of life for her age so was amazing. I always said when I get old I want to live as she did, without a care in the world. I was with her the day before she died. I did not understand at that time why she was telling me so much, like where to find the deed to her house or where her will is. She told me what I and my brother were to recieve and how she wanted her funeral. All I could do was take notes and listen to what she said, my mother always told me old people tell you things for a reason unless there old and crazy than there just talking out there head. Well my grandmother was not crazy yet, she was still full of life and happy to see me to play. After I left that day she told me and my mother that she was a little tired and wanted to sleep, she never woke up from that nap. I still wish I would of stayed with her that night maybe things would have been a little different. At her funeral I remember her lying there very still and peaceful. Everyone was staring at me like they were waiting on me to cry, but I wouldn’t. I knew she would always be with me and helpping me along the way. My grandmother was a very loved individual in her community.

One Response »