Peace CoffinFew people know that the FTC ( the Federal Trade Commission) has something called a Funeral Rule, designed to protect consumers when buying funeral services. One of the ten rights listed addresses your right to buy a casket or urn of your choosing, from any vendor you want, for any reason, no explanation required, and without a surcharge. So go ahead and  pick one up at Costco (while you’re getting your party platter), the Trappist Monks, my friend David Campbell in Montgomery County, PA who handcrafts beautiful custom caskets, or decoupage a box you built in your garage. (For ashes, you can buy a fancy [Not] coffee can in case you don’t happen to have an empty Maxwell House Breakfast Blend at time of need.)

The point is to know that you have every right (try opportunity!) to choose a burial container that suits your style, your budget, your every and any whim. I’m thinking that we’re all buried in the same caskets because we think that’s all they’re selling. Or that there’s a matching casket requirement for getting into Heaven. The world is your oyster-casket — if you want something personal, unique, far-out, outrageous, or ahem, bare-bones, trust me… it exists. And if it doesn’t, by God, it must be your day to bring it into existence. A little internet searching will bury you in casket options you never knew existed.

(Really, seriously gotta love the death puns.)