You May Have To Shop Around First

Dear Ann Landers: Yitzhak Rabin, the late prime minister of Israel, was carried to his grave in a flag-draped plain wooden box. For years, I have considered leaving instructions that the same happen to me.

I fear my heirs might buy a fancy casket costing thousands of dollars. Please help me get things arranged in advance. Surely funeral homes don’t sell plain boxes. Must I prearrange with a carpenter? Would a funeral home still offer its hearse and graveside services if I didn’t buy one of its caskets? Would a cemetery accept me in a plain box? Would I be violating any state, local or federal regulations?

How about finding out for us, Ann? Can an American man be carried to his grave in the same manner as Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin? - Arapahoe, N.C.

Dear Arapahoe: All Orthodox Jews are buried in a simple wooden box - no nails, no metal. If this is your wish, make sure your next of kin, or the person who will be responsible for your burial, knows that it is.

Almost all mortuaries are willing to provide a simple wooden box. Should a mortuary be unwilling to handle the service unless you buy an expensive casket from them, call another mortuary.

People have become more enlightened about burials and are opting for simplicity rather than ostentation. They are beginning to realize that how we treat our loved ones when they are alive is what matters.

Dear Ann Landers: In response to your request for stories with a special twist about how you met your mate, I submit the following:

We met at 9:00 at a ballroom dance, walking toward each other, almost colliding. Both of us jumped in the same direction and again a second time and a third. At that point, he grabbed my arm and said, “Well, as long as you’re getting in my way, we might as well dance.”

I fixed him good. I never got out of his way again. We celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary this year. After our wedding, Earl and I moved 15 times, but I didn’t mind. He is such a wonderful mate.

Backtracking a bit, when attending high school, we seniors looked down on the lowly sophomores. One of those “lowly sophomores” went into the ministry. It was he who gave the blessing at our anniversary party 55 years later. - G.L., Menasha, Wis.

Dear Menasha: What a sweet letter. You and Earl are lovely role models for us all. May you have many more happy years together.

Dear Ann Landers: Please advise your readers not to bring their guns when they come to Canada. Many U.S. citizens don’t know that carrying a gun in Canada is not legal unless you have a firearms permit, which is hard to come by.

Every day, Canadian Customs confiscates guns from visitors and subjects them to a minimum fine of $500 for not declaring the weapons.

If you are coming to Canada and carrying a gun, please advise Canadian Customs upon entering. They will keep the firearm for you to pick up on your return stateside. - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

Dear Friend: It’s obvious that Canada doesn’t want any gun-totin’ U.S. citizens up there. I say, “Hooray for them!”

xxxx