I don't know why my father was buried in Nathalia Cemetery. I think he and Step Mother used to shop in Nathalia but it was half an hour away from where they lived. The cemetery is a nice enough place with views over fields (very useful for the dead) and bordered on one side by a creek, Broken Creek that is, and broken its banks it has and the area is flooded with a peak not expected until Thursday.
I hope my Daddy is not floating around the paddocks of Nathalia.
"Mr Andrew, it is about your father. Apparently he lost some weight after his death and due to insufficient weight in the coffin, the flood waters have freed it and he is now headed for the Murray."
If he is I hope he's having a damn good time! Wow, I wonder if all the above ground stuff gets washed away. Never thought of cemetaries.
ReplyDeleteDunno Fen, it is not inconceivable to me that coffins could float.
ReplyDeleteHow long has your dad been buried? Would the coffin still be whole?
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of New Orleans, where people are buried in above ground tombs because below ground is too boggy for graves.
Did your father ever let slip a secret ambition to go white water rafting? Or perhaps he'll get a gentle ride of the sort at Waterworld where you sit on an inflatable doo-hickey and drift around a moat.
ReplyDelete[I do love your sense of humour.]
Is it wrong of me to tell you that I laughed like a hyena at the possible situation and the imagery that sprung to mind?
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope he's literally not up Broken creek without a paddle.
Haha! I put my hand up, I laughed loudly also Andrew, I'm a great believer in that once you're gone, you're gone and it doesn't really matter what happens to the bits left behind (blimey I hope I'm right!!)
ReplyDeleteThe Kumara cemetery, where some of my Scettrini's are buried, is on swampy ground in places. My uncle told me the old cemetery maps were lost- I forgot exactly how, but maybe in a fire. So they didn't know where all the old graves were. One day they were digging for a new grave, and came across a very well preserved coffin. The wet swampy ground had stopped things decaying quite as they might ordinarily... They avoided trying that area again...
ReplyDeleteVery humourous i really hope it doesn't happen :-).
ReplyDeleteNothing like a bit of dark humor as one floats away in their coffin to another land.
ReplyDeleteI never have understood why people place so much emphasis on preserving a dead body. My mother's family was so terribly upset with us kids for allowing our mother's body to be cremated. After all, it was what she wanted.
Twelve years River. Re New Orleans, I remember seeing graves in New Zealand falling apart because of ground collapses. It was funny to see steam coming out of a grave.
ReplyDeleteFruitCake, well no, but he was fond of boats and fishing.
Kath, knowing him, he would be drifting towards the local pub.
Grace, it does matter if they can be reused in someone else. I am a firm believer in organ donation, but yes, who really cares about bits of dead.
KN, it is funny. You would think the damp and water would cause things to rot, but perhaps you need oxygen too.
Windsmoke, bad enough having to pay for his funeral without having to pay again for him to be retrieved.
Rubye, now you have made me think. Perhaps we cremated him. I honestly can't remember. Still, it would have spoilt the story. I don't think we can afford the luxury of using land to bury people now and I hate the idea of going against the dead's wishes. You did the right thing.
Depends how the current is... but he could turn in his grave! ;)
ReplyDeleteAh Peter, while he pretended ignorance of me and my partner's relationship, he managed to use it to his advantage. I don't think there is much that could turn him in his grave.
ReplyDeletesounds a lovely spot - if I do but see him floating by will surely give you the word
ReplyDeleteMC, the chances of that seem a bit higher now.
ReplyDeleteI saw the cemetery on tv a few nights ago, with water flowing through it!
ReplyDeleteNo oblong wooden boxes floating around Fen?
ReplyDelete