On my 'bucket list'...

There's someone very unique and famous buried in Interlaken, N.Y.....

A man who brought you some of the most amazing stories that were

ever put to paper....a man who captured the imagination...breaking the

 barriers of 'real time' to places unknown...places that were in many

instances even hard to comprehend.

He passed away much too early....his name was Rod Serling.

From the Twilight Zone to the Night Galleries, Serling's expertise

at the typewriter was unmatched.

His grave site is on my bucket list for later this year.

So on the 'just right' day this fall, when the leaves are starting to

turn and surrender to the brisk winds, I'll go visit Rod in his

quiet surrounds... and thank him for him contributions.

It's a trip I've wanted to make for years... and experience has told

me not to put things off  for another day...after all, we don't know

how many more of those days each one of us might have left.

I'll talk and listen, and photograph...and bring it back to you here.

I'm actually experiencing a bit of a chill as I write this...knowing

I'll be in the company of one of the true greats. 

UK reading Undertakings...

My recent numbers with my publisher Book Stand Publishing of
California were most pleasing to me this week.

Thanks to my friend Peter Abraham in Bristol, England, my Amazon
Kindle sales were outstanding during July in the UK.

Peter, shown here, has a writing blog also called Confessions of an
Undertaker, and last month did a you-tube review of my book.. and
it must have hit the mark with his audience, which resulted in great
numbers of people buying my book.

So again, thanks Peter...you're the man......

It's going to be a busy fall with lots of stuff already on the calendar...

the summer is ticking by quickly...get out there and enjoy it.

Back on L.A. talk radio....

Thursday night, Sept. 27th, 7:00 p.m. PST, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, I'll be back

on L.A.Talk radio on a program entitled Writers Block. Each week the three

hosts talk to writers around the country about their passions, the hang-ups,

the inspirations, the dilemmas etc. It'll be a fun night to be back on the air.

The week of the podcast, I'll post details here of how you can hear the show

live, and even call in to say hello..

Thank you all who have supported by book, and more details about the new

Tales Unleashed are forthcoming! 

Oct 26th...7 p.m. in Palmyra NY...

---

Death, Lore and Local History.  A conversation with Stan Swan and Patti Unvericht

October 26th at 7 pm

Join local authors Stan Swan and Patti Unvericht for a fascinating discussion about Death, Lore, and Local History. Bring your questions and join the conversation!

~With 35 years spent in the funeral business and now a self published author (Undertakings of an Undertaker, true stories of being laid to rest and Tales Unleashed; coming soon), Stan Swan has pretty much experienced it all in the death care industry.
~An authority on both local history and the supernatural, Patti Unvericht is the author of two books through The History Press, Ghosts and Hauntings of the Finger Lakes (6/5/2012) and Hidden History of the Finger Lakes (7/16/2018).

Parkland...a must see

I'm not sure how I missed this movie...and though this is not a site to
review movies, I'm making an exception here.

The movie Parkland (2013) is the story of Parkland Hospital in Dallas
where President Kennedy was taken after being shot in Dallas in 1963...
if you are old enough...you'll remember the day.... where you were..what
you were doing.

Parkland is a riveting film and reveals some facts I had never been aware
of before...some of those things include:

1. His wife before leaving the emergency operating room where he was
pronounced dead...removed her wedding  ring and and placed it on the pinky
finger of the President's left hand.

2. There was a physical altercation between the Secret Service and the local
coroner at Parkland...the coroner wanted to keep the body there for autopsy..
the presidents men wanted him taken immediately back to Washington D.C...
the Secret Service won out...and a casket was brought within a short time
to the operating room where the presidents body was casketed.

3. The first lady...still covered in blood from the assassination...road in the
back of the hearse with the body on the way to the airport.

4. The Secret Service didn't want the president's casket to be put in the
belly of the airplane like a piece of luggage so they quickly removed several
rows of seats to accommodate the casket...and over ten men struggled to
get it up the steps and onto Air Force One.

5. The U.S. armed forces were put on high alert, not sure if this was
part of a 'first strike' by a foreign government to take advantage of the
assassination. It turned out to be only the act of one deranged man,
Lee Harvey Oswald.

November 23rd, 1963 was a dismal day for the U.S....and those of us
who were alive will never forget it.

If you haven't seen the movie Parkland...see it. It's available on Amazon
Prime and at other locations.

It's ninety minutes of history.....you'll feel like you were there in the middle
of it all.

Let's pray we won't see another day like that ever again.

One final note. The first lady's pink 'pill box' hat has never been found.
It's location remains a mystery.. and I'm guessing, maybe a subject for
this writer to investigate one day in the future right here.

Less processions........

As is with all things, the funeral business continues to change, year to year.

When was the last time you saw a funeral procession on the road? A lead car,
followed by the hearse, then family cars, all with lights ablaze, sometimes
with blinkers on, and many times with orange or purple funeral flags displayed.

You probably haven't seen as many as you used to....the fact of the matter is, fewer
and fewer families now choose not to go to the cemetery to make a burial... whether
it be a casket, or urn with cremains.

Many families are telling the undertaker just to go ahead and make burial after
the funeral, then they will visit the grave the next day. 

Grave sites can be traumatic...depending on the nature of the death, weather
conditions, distance from the funeral home, etc.  And a lot of people just
don't wish to go there anymore. 

It's another part of the changing scene of today's modern funeral... at least
in the U.S.   Many European countries wouldn't think of making such a change...
going to the cemetery is part of the 'acceptance of death' if you will...and the
death ritual isn't completed until the body is in the ground.

And with more and more people choosing cremation as the years pass...fewer
and fewer will want to make that final drive to a cemetery for burial.

I'm old school. I think those that choose not to go are cheating themselves of
an important part of saying goodbye to that loved one. I was there for the
burial of my grandfather, and for my father and mother. In fact, in the
last two I actually stayed to make sure the vault cover was on securely over
the casket before the grave was closed. Satisfaction. Peace. Farewell.

So if you wonder whey you don't see that stream of headlights coming at you
as often as you used to....just remember... it's part of our new ways of
dealing with the whole subject.

Change. It's inevitable in all things, but it's not always for the better.

SS

Time machines.....

I've been a bit remiss in my postings here, with really no good excuse...but
rather a few flimsy ones...so I apologize....

My father always said the older you get, the faster the time goes by.. and he
was right for sure.

I couldn't help but wonder about how we check our time every day...my
grandfather and his before him probably had the old pocket watch on the
gold chain.. the type the railroad guys used to use...guess probably if you
are in the watch repair business you don't have much work these days....

I'm not even sure many guys even wear a wrist watch anymore...I have one but
it's just for habit.. although I can tell the time every day by just kind of
putting a hand or an arm in the air...to sense the time if you will.. and
I'm usually pretty darn close. That's a bit spooky itself I must admit.

How far we've come in a few decades...pocket watches to flip phones to
new gizmos that seem to come out monthly.

Next thing coming? Maybe a chip in your hand or arm that will give a
little 'buzz' at the top of the hour....now that's creepy, but maybe not too
far fetched. I'm kind of glad I won't be around for that one.

So, I guess the thought for the day is....don't let the day or week slip by
you without taking some notice....the tick of the clock is still the same..
60 beats to the minute.. whether it's mechanical or digital... it's all the
same.

Stay well friends, thanks for stopping.