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(Presentation for the National Funeral Directors Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, October 27-28, 1998)   INTRODUCTION After all the frenzy of the “Titanic” movie, interest in the subject has shown no signs of abating. Books, seminars, videos and souvenirs concerning the sinking of the unsink­able White Star liner abound at every corner of life. With all …

One of the great blessings in my life is that by guess or by golly, by accident and certainly not by design, and to my own amazement and surprise I have been fortunate to work with thousands of funeral directors across the globe in my career, which is now long, and has not been totally …

The plane ran down the runway at about 6:30 p.m. I left the Epply Airfield in Omaha, for the two and a half hour flight back to my world. I had spent a long weekend visiting my hometown in Iowa to celebrate by father’s 80 something birthday. Iowa in October is a tray of sensations …

“Without participation in rituals or the appropriation of the elements which it mediates, the human person faces psychological conflict, personality impairment, and estrangement from the inner self and outer society. Correspondingly, hollow or weak rituals will threaten the ability of the “pseudo-species” to incorporate new members and maintain a stable existence in the flow of …

A TRUE ACT OF MERCY Several months ago I made a speaking trip to Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania to give the annual Pearson Lectures. I always have enjoyed my trips to the “Keystone” or “Quaker” State, and as always I was treated with much courtesy and hospitality. I am guessing that the lectures went …