The High Cost of Dying

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I made a discovery today: car salesmen are not the sleaziest salesmen out there. No, that distinction goes to funeral salesmen. Today I went to the funeral home to do pre-planning for my aunt. No worries, she's okay, but at 89 years of age we all know she's not going to be around for another 50 years. And, having endured the pain of the loss of my mother, I know how having the funeral expenses paid for takes a gigantic load off the family at a most distressing time. But oy! Last month I went to the very same funeral home and talked to the very same funeral salesman about a casket. He told me the cheapest one was $1,295. That was fine with my aunt (let's face it: what's the point of buying something fancy then burying it? And they won't let you dig it up on Sunday afternoon so you can look at it!). So she cashed in one of her life insurance policies and I went back today to buy it. Oops, it's now $1,695. PLUS a $125 "processing fee." Yeah, like that "buy a car in our inventory and save thousands!" ad, then they charge you $995 "destination charge." For a car sitting on the lot, not one they had to bring in from Toledo. And, of course, what can you do? You can't make your own casket because there are regulations. And you can't go to Wal-Mart and buy one because the aforementioned regulations stipulate that only certain "licensed" agents can sell caskets. Can you say, "scam"? Friends of mine covered an old song called "The High Cost of Living." The high cost of living has nothing on the high cost of dying! Here's a great John Prine song about dying: