has heard about the bodies found around the crematorium in Noble, Ga.

The owner, Brent Marsh, said that he improperly disposed of the bodies

because the crematory was broken. Like it was the shake machine at a Burger

King. That's why we fix things, Mr. Marsh, or things just start piling

up on you.

We may never

get a straight answer as to why Marsh didn't get the crematory fixed.

We may also never find out why bodies were disposed in the wooded area

around the crematorium or stacked on top of each other in vaults. It is

a gruesome story that has received international attention. I think this

is because human beings are interested in death and all that surrounds

it.

Death is inevitable.

It will happen to us all and will affect everybody we know. We fear death

because we're unsure of what happens next. Is it painful? Do we go to

the afterlife, is it the afterlife we are hoping for or is there absolutely

nothing after we draw our last breath?

Throughout

the ages people have tried to make the transition from life to death as

nice as possible for the deceased. Egyptians mummified their dead, placing

them inside tombs with all of their worldly possessions. Vikings laid

their dead on a boat, set the boat on fire and cast the boat to sea. For

most people, though, burying their dead was enough, or cremating them

and keeping or scattering their ashes. These were ways to honor the dead,

but really, it was a way for the living to work through their grief.

For the people

who have relatives that were supposed to have been cremated in Noble and

apparently weren't, I can understand some of the feelings that they are

expressing. The case was supposed to be closed, so to speak. They had

received ashes, thinking they were the ashes of their loved one, and had

moved on with their lives. Now they may have to deal with their loved

one's death again. It is disturbing and uncomfortable but it cannot possibly

measure up to the initial shock of their loved one's passing.

I have started

to hear that some people want to sue the crematorium and I can't understand

why. The authorities should book Marsh on charges of fraud, but why should

the loved ones be able to sue him? If the bodies were never discovered,

the ashes that the people received would still be accepted as those of

their loved ones.

This just shows

that it doesn't really matter what the ashes really are. The people believed

they were the remains of their loved ones and they went along with their

lives accordingly. It's not like the dead have been haunting their loved

ones saying, "Those aren't my ashes, avenge my miscremation thing."

The soundbites

from the people on the news are what really bother me though. One lady

said "It's my worst nightmare." This can't be true. Your worst

nightmare is your death, followed closely by the test you didn't study

for or going to school naked. Another lady said "I thought he was

resting in peace, turns out he was resting in pieces." That's funny.

It sounded like she had tried that one out on a couple of people before

she was quoted on the news.

Those affected

are entitled to be upset, but not more upset than when this person first

died. They should get their money back for the service that was never

performed and they should be able to yell at Marsh before he is jailed

but enough is enough. It's a bad enough story without everybody coming

out and trying to one up everyone else on how horrified they are.

I don't mean

to sound too cold, but I have dealt with death before, both on a personal

level and a professional level. I used to work as a transporter at a hospital.

I would take patients to their rooms and their tests and I would deliver

medicine and lab results to the floors. Another of my duties included

morgue runs. Morgue runs involved going to the morgue, getting a gurney,

going to the patient's room, getting the deceased and taking him to the

morgue.

One of the

strangest policies was that, in the event that we were doing a morgue

run and on our way to the morgue we ran into visitors, we were to take

the sheet off of the deceased's head and talk to the deceased as if he

or she were still alive. This was done so that visitors would not be freaked

out. You see, the feelings of the living came first. It doesn't matter

to the dead guy if you take off the sheet and start talking about baseball,

politics or television. He's dead. Nothing on earth is going to bother

him again.

So, yes, having

bodies all over the place in Noble is gross, disgusting and disturbing,

but the dead people aren't the ones crying out. They should be dealt with

properly, as should careless crematorium manager, Brent Marsh, but it

is not the end of the world.

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