What would you like to be?

When you die, I mean. Okay, I’ve been reading this book by Mary Roach called, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and it’s written in a casual style with a morbidly wry sense of humor. I’ve enjoyed most of the book, and it’s given me some food for thought. While I was in Iraq, I had some time to consider, and come to terms with, my own mortality. I’ve always imagined that I should have something useful done with my body after my soul has moved on, but I expected the end result would be that my remains would be cremated. In her book, Ms. Roach introduces a new method for disposal of the deceased, and now I know what I would like done with my body after the doctors and scientists have had their way with it: I would like my remains to be composted and fed to a plant. Not just any plant, but a tree. Doesn’t really matter what kind, but preferably one with some longevity as trees go. Specifically, I would like the tree to be planted in soil nurtured by my composted remains, and it would be really cool if, after the tree has grown for a while, a small plaque bearing my name could be added to the tree. I can’t think of a more useful and memorable way for the remains to be handled.