and the weather's gone cool again

[incandescens]

So my four carefully researched facts about Germany have been trumped by someone else who found out the fact that in Germany you can't buy your grave site, you can only rent it.

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

(Actually, I wonder if I can use that fact in a story somewhere somehow.)

Had an unexpected meeting this morning for a couple of hours, but it was fairly interesting, so I'm not objecting too much.

Everyone is wishing that the weekend had been longer.

---

How Doth the Little Crocodile

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

-- Lewis Carroll

Comments

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

That's sad, but what a fascinating fact. Does that mean your family has to keep on paying rent on the thing? What a racket, if so; and what an incentive to cremate.

[incandescens]

Well, going by some rapid googling, the rent is for a period of 20-25 years (varying from state to state), and after that you (or your family) can renew the rental if you wish. Otherwise the plot is reallocated and reused.

I would have thought there must be some sort of reason for the origin of this, but I don't know what it is.

[archangelbeth]

After 20-25 years, if you don't also perform some kind of ritual, the corpse rises anyway?

[incandescens]

Should we mention this to Seanan McGuire? :)

[archangelbeth]

Possibly!

[rvdammit.livejournal.com]

I think, typically, it's we've run out of graveyard. Is anybody still paying respects? No? then lets exhume the bones and put them into a thinger I can't remember the name of (ossury?) and plant another fresh body.

[incandescens]

Sounds very likely. (Ossuary, I think.)