May Issue-No Rain What do you about funerals?

NO RAIN FOR SEVEN MONTHS

Margaret Cotter Nagy sent an email from where she lives 55 miles south of Alpine and about 50 miles from the wild fires. “EVERY THING is SO PARCHED, not a wild flower blooming on our 40 aces that I have seen,” she writes.

In 2006, Margaret a Hou-city girl and her husband, Ernie retired and moved west where Ernie has preached for the last four years. At first they lived in a tent for three months then moved into a cabin and were able to get a phone, propane, solar panels and a refrigerator! Since it cost $40 a foot to drill for a water well and water is found about 1300 feet down, they depend on rain water. The cactus thrive on the brief showers where a two inch rain means two-inch raindrops two inches apart. They are very conservative but they need more water than the cactus. When the water gets too low in their tank, they have to drive several miles to buy water and then haul it home.

Recently, Margaret had some errands to run and took a 60 mile trip. While in the area she went to an RV park and had a shower. It cost $2.

Next time you think about needing rain, be thankful you can still turn on a water faucet.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FUNERALS?

Most people don’t want to talk about funerals, but unless Jesus returns before we die, we will have a funeral.

Mary McCloud Appling, who grew up in Almeda and now lives in the Arcola area, doesn’t mind talking about funerals. She has even written a book on the subject. After talking to a funeral director, Mary realized she had the qualities for that position when he said he had to be a doctor, psychiatrist and preacher rolled into one. In 1992, Mary enrolled in mortuary school. In 2004, she purchased Unity Funeral Home.

Mary has noticed that people spend months planning a wedding but try to jam the SAME amount of detail into two or three days when planning a funeral. Some funeral homes will give you the cost of a funeral but then you find the things a person would normally expect to be included are extra.

Eliminate some of those surprises by making pending arrangements with a funeral director when death is imminent. If the person is under Hospice or Home Health Care and death occurs, immediately call their contact number as they are trained to know exactly what steps need to be taken. If the person is in the hospital, the doctor may advise the family to sign a form giving the hospital permission to release the body. At that time pending arrangements can be made with the funeral home of a person’s choice. There is much more to think through that will be mentioned in future issues.