And Now for Something Completely Different

Each Wednesday I go knit charity afghans at my local yarn store. And as you might guess, what with it being knitting & Arizona and all, most of the women there are significantly older than I. But I do enjoy the company and all the stories. As would have it, the conversation yesterday turned to death. No, not to the "€œOh mah Gawd, it'€™s so scary"€ kind, but rather the "€œI guess I€'d better figure out what to do with my body"€ kind. So as I sat there cranking out the squares, we discussed local mortuaries, none of which are apparently acceptable, cremation vs. burial, and of course organ donation. Yep, I was present after all.  Well, somewhere along the line, the conversation took an odd turn. It seems that one of these women really doesn'€™t want to "burden"€™ her family with any financial obligation. You see, she's not close enough to them to feel she has the right, but not estranged enough for vindictiveness to factor in. Therefore, she's way into the idea of donation,€“ but feels it'€™s not ENOUGH. It turns out that she wants "€œthem [some institution] to keep my body"€. So we discussed donating to scientific research. But after some research of our own, we found that even they only typically keep a body for three weeks or so. Then it'€™s back to the family. (Organ donation is within a few days & allows for an open casket if desired, by the way.) At this point I'm about ready to tell her to sign up for BodyWorlds 4. I'm just at a loss for ideas. So it is that I turn to you, fair readers, for inspiration. Is there anyone among you who knows how this woman can dispose of her body/ashes for free? Something tasteful is preferred; however, she feels no need for it to end up in any specific local. Me, I want a green burial.  Check it out.  This one's pretty darn cool, too.