Death

[Domeguy]

I would assume during and after a major SHTF event, society will not be functioning as it does today. There will most likely be many people to die from a lot of things, and you will not be able to call a funeral home. We would need to take care of this ourselves. So what do we do with the body, burial is an option, but not in a big city. And here out in the country, I would not have the strength to did a 6 foot hole. There is cremation, but again in a large city, this may not be possible.
What are our options, and what do they require? Things like is 6 ft deep really needed?

[jamesneuen]

The 6 foot thing reduced the smell around grave yards. If it's near you then you could do it shallower but use lime.

I planned to use burning to prevent any possible diseases to us and surrounding wildlife.

If I'm down here though I can just roll them in the ocean and let the sharks and other critters do the rest

[Sniper-T]

depends... loved one, or acquaintance... or baddie.

Loved one, burial (unless they were diseased); acquaintance (possibly same, or cremation); bad guy (cremation or just dragged off a mile or so down wind and left in piles to deter further rovers.

Need to be hidden? drag off into the bush, and opened up to allow the aroma to waft. bears/wolves/coyotes/cats will clean up the mess within hours.

[Fidel MD]

The main concern about disease is getting into the water supply....and burning takes a lot of fuel

[Domeguy]

Due to physical problems, I couldn't even dig 1 decent grave. And in a bad senerio, there could be 100's of bodies. If you can't burn or bury them, then what can we do.

[Sniper-T]

wheel barrow or wagon... toss em on a trailer and take them for a ride down the road.

Or for you... save them for cat food...
;)

[jamesneuen]

Wait for the animals to take care of it?

[Fidel MD]

My personal plan is to stay away from large concentrations of people for the most part. My food and water sources are secure.

After the die-off happens, the bodies will sort themselves out in 3-6 months (perhaps longer if over the winter). It won't be pleasant, perhaps, but it won't be contagious. The worst thing to do would be some halfassed effort that wastes resources and ultimately makes a bad situation worse.

[ElevenBravo]

One word...

Backhoe..

http://resource.liugong.cn/images/1339490397583.jpg





Two words...

Mini Backhoe..

http://cesmith.biz/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/jcb.28563142_std.jpg



Cheaper two words...

Towable backhoe..

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$%28KGrHqEOKo4E26Icjen-BNzz6IrGBg~~_1.JPG
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=mini+excavator&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC1.A0.H0.Xtowab le+excavator.TRS1&_nkw=towable+excavator&_sacat=0


HTH,
EB

[Illini Warrior]

if you had a substantial die off and a mass burial wouldn't be possible .... if you the manpower & transportation was doable .... you'd stack the bodies in an isolated wood building with a basement .... burn the building and feed the fire until all the bodies were consumed and any remains were in the basement .... fill the basement with rubble & fill ....

[Sniper-T]

^Disagree

Fill the basement with combustibles. Stack the crap on the main floor, douse with burnable and toss the match. once it burns through, the basement fire will finish the house fire's job, for maximum mass removal

[Domeguy]

If it just me and the missus, I would try and bury her properly, but if it's reversed, she might break a nail, so I guess I'll rot outside the door, which by the way is fine for me. Bad for resale value though. What about the old fashioned rock piles you see in older movies. Or is this just a deterant to keep away the critters.

[jamesneuen]

I've had coyotes rip a steel trashcan off my garage that I had screwed in place. I'm not sure rocks would do much to stop the larger ones

[realist]

Well there is always the wood chipper...........okay I'll go to hell for that one......

I agree with the doc you need to make sure where ever you put them they should not be anywhere near your water source.

I do like the backhoes. Do you think the neighbors will complain it I were to pre-dig the holes with their headstones with the date of death would be blank......or maybe wooden crosses would be better.......okay cheaper........ for the time being. You know with the backhoes we could bury people standing up to save space.......

[Vodin]

Damn realist you stole my line Wood chipper. But it gets better once verifed disease free use em for compost years later..
Or one could stop by a F E M A camp and take a stake of those nifty compartment containers..
Also go down the street calling out Bring out your Dead! And deliver them to the same camp when you run out of those containers..

Honestly I would take them to an abandoned mine. Or to a quarry, ocean, desert..

[Domeguy]

Wood chipper, hmmm............

[Sniper-T]

Isn't that how they get this mulch:

http://image.marginup.com/u/u165/Picture5.jpg

:p

[realist]

Not only is it a nice color but it adds even more nutrients to the soil, ever heard of blood meal?

[helomech]

Well since we slaughter so many animals here the critters have learned where the free food is. I put 24 rabbit carcasses out 2 hours later barely anything was left. Sure a human body would not be there but a couple days at most.

[Kesephist]

Still so new... is this ... well, cavalier attitude to death and disposition of the dead a prevalent aspect of the prepper milieu, to be accepted? A coping mechanism? Or a string of humor at the world's second oldest funny subject?

Argent-oriented minds desire to know.

Kesephist

[jamesneuen]

I think joking to make it a lighter subject helps discussion but I don't think the squeamish will even discuss it. I grew up on a farm, and then started hunting once I moved away. Death just goes hand in hand with living. Just seems there are older crowd here that realize you have to do what needs done.

Now I'm not saying we are going to go on a rampage and start shooting granny and little Suzie in the face from 300yds for their chef boyardee. We are more than mentally prepared to deal with threats, disease and famine though.

[eagle326]

[QUOTE=Kesephist;82719]Still so new... is this ... well, cavalier attitude to death and disposition of the dead a prevalent aspect of the prepper milieu, to be accepted? A coping mechanism? Or a string of humor at the world's second oldest funny subject?

Argent-oriented minds desire to know.


After reading this thread I figured I'd come on in right here. Okay here's my take on death.

From the day you draw your 1st. breath you're on your way to dying. Which means no one is getting out alive. So now we have bodies littering the ground and want to get rid of them. Well in my mind whoever owned them aren't using them anymore so I get rid of them. Now Sniper's idea with the basement is sweet. Dump and burn. :)

Man is no more than animal like the rest of the species roaming the earth. We being the dominate one's create rituals for the dead and spend weeks and months mourning their loss. Does it hurt to lose someone close? Bet your sweet bippy it does but life goes on and empty shells of people are a health hazard. I no more cherish the thought of losing my wife ; children ; grand children ; great grand children or people near and dear to me. but in my world I must do what I need to do to keep the rest healthy as possible.

I've lost army brothers in a far off land and I still see them everyday along with family and bygone friends. But my job is in the here and now ; not with dead bodies. You do what you have to do to survive . No disrespect to the corpses but in the end we're all just fertilizer or food for wild animals.
Besides if I couldn't see the humor in death or dying I'd never be able to live.Dying is a fact of life and while many can't fathom that ; they need to be able to get comfortable with what has to be done sometimes in dire times.

As for my wife and children we all think life is a joke and it's been played on us ; So we enjoy our time here and don't give a rat's ass what anyone does with our corpses because we're not using them anymore. Now for me if possible I want to be parachuted up and static lined for my last jump from a perfectly good airplane.
Man I bet that's gonna be one crazy P.L.F.

AIRBORNE!!!!!
Eagle 326

[ElevenBravo]

Death, its part of the circle of life.

[mitunnelrat]

I haven't spoken with any who stay here long that don't recognise the dignity in human life, dark humor and irreverent banter aside.

I see here the humor evident in my own household. My dad has continually drilled his wishes into my head to make me comfortable with the inevitability of his death because he knows I will be the one seeing them through. My sister is his named executor, but I - in a very real (if not literal) sense could be executioner. On life support? Pull the plug. Dies during a major surgical procedure? DNR. During sex? Roll him off her and make sure he's found with a smile on his face.

its all been discussed. Where the most humor comes in for us is in disposing of his remains. He wants cremation and his ashes spread at home. I now tell him I will honor that, but not to be surprised if its right where I like to piss, but it better not be until after he finishes upgrading his house for me.

I once heard that man is the animal that laughs. Lose that, and we lose our humanity.

As for mass burials, well, the pigs' gotta eat too

[bacpacker]

I grew up farming, fishing, hunting. I have saw and participated in death. I have many family and friends that have passed on, some when I was very young, other much more recent. Like Eagle said, living is part of dying. Really not good or bad, just another part of it. Yeah losing ones close to you hurts, sometimes that never goes away. But it doesn't change things. If cracking a joke helps someone deal with a loss, more power to them.
As far as dealing with bodies, the owners will not be needing them any longer, so why not make things as sanitary as possible. Better that than invite disease. Lots of bodies would be very hard to deal with if no heavy equipment is available.

[eagle326]

I grew up farming, fishing, hunting. I have saw and participated in death. I have many family and friends that have passed on, some when I was very young, other much more recent. Like Eagle said, living is part of dying. Really not good or bad, just another part of it. Yeah losing ones close to you hurts, sometimes that never goes away. But it doesn't change things. If cracking a joke helps someone deal with a loss, more power to them.
As far as dealing with bodies, the owners will not be needing them any longer, so why not make things as sanitary as possible. Better that than invite disease. Lots of bodies would be very hard to deal with if no heavy equipment is available.


Hey son want to take that last jump with me ? :p

[bacpacker]

S7re. Just so you know, I'll most likely shit myself. ��


Heights are not my favorite thing.

[Sniper-T]

I think shitting yourself would be the last of your worries on that last jump. And in the end, it will all be part of the same splat!

I'd join you Eagle, but I think that with my shock absorbing coat, I may survive!

http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Crazy-Cat-Lady.jpg

[eagle326]

I think shitting yourself would be the last of your worries on that last jump. And in the end, it will all be part of the same splat!

I'd join you Eagle, but I think that with my shock absorbing coat, I may survive!

http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Crazy-Cat-Lady.jpg


Nice coat Sniper ! Yep you'll probably have a soft bounce. But I think you need to add just a few more furbies to be sure. :D

- - - Updated - - -

Sniper ; maybe you and Backpacker could help me out the door then. Oh and video tape my landing.

[bacpacker]

Some stranger read this and take us all for bat shit crazy. OTOH maybe we are.

[Sniper-T]

Cat shit crazy?

[eagle326]

Cat shit crazy?

Good thing that I'm the sane one among this group. Don't worry youngins' ; just follow me. :p
Okay where's my map? Ah Hell I don't need no stinkin' map. Wet finger to the wind direction and we're on our way. :cool:

[mitunnelrat]

Some stranger read this and take us all for bat shit crazy. OTOH maybe we are.

You know... I don't much worry about that anymore. Just look at what the majority of society does, and do the opposite to live well.
I'd follow Eagle's wind reckoning before most peoples "dead" reckoning.

In all honesty (because I'm drunk and roughly incapable of lying, as a poor - sober - liar). I have a high regard for the lives of good people, and no regard for evil. I see the same values throughout the colony. We will put time and energy into that which we value. The rest I will only speak for myself, and it is beneath me.

[Sniper-T]

roll on highways... roll on along...

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on (roll on)

Well it's Monday morning, he's kissin' momma goodbye
He's up and gone with the sun
Daddy drives an eighteen-wheeler
And he's off on a midwest run
As three sad faces gather 'round momma
They ask her when daddy's comin' home
Daddy drives an eighteen-wheeler
And they sure miss him when he's gone (yeah they do)

Ah, but he calls them every night and he tells them that he loves them
He taught them this song to sing

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler, roll on (roll on)

Well it's Wednesday evening, momma's waitin' by the phone
It rings but it's not his voice
Seems the highway patrol has found a jack-knifed rig
In a snow bank in Illinois

But the driver was missin' and the search had been abandoned
For the weather had everything stalled
And they had checked all the houses and the local motels
When they had some more news they'd call
And she told them when they found him to tell him that she loved him
And she hung up the phone singin'

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on

Momma and the children will be waiting up all night long
Thinkin' nothing but the worst is comin'
With the ringin' of the telephone
Oh, but the man upstairs was listening
When momma asked him to bring daddy home
And when the call came in it was daddy on the other end
Askin' her if she had been singin' the song, singin'

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler, roll on (roll on)

Eighteen-wheeler
Eighteen-wheeler
Eighteen-wheeler
Eighteen-wheeler
Roll on
Roll on
Roll on
Roll on

[Stormfeather]

Shit... you cowards dont want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with that man, I sure as hell will! Hell, he can be dead cold, and I will push him out of the plane or better yet... tandem his ass... Imagine the reception ya get when ya land!


WTF?!?!? He was alive when we jumped out the damn door... Who's got dibs on his boots?

[Stormfeather]

But, as for the whole topic of death overall, like the others here, I carry a few brothers with me at all times. Its my spiritual fireteam. Ive plugged more wounds, told more lies to people about they would make it and would be fine, and folded enough flags to last me a lifetime. On the other hand, Ive stacked enough EC's to make Auschwitz look like disneyland it seems like to me at times, and none of the guys passed happily or cleanly.
Death is just that, a lack of life. I treat it no differently than I would cutting up a chicken for the grill. The primary difference, those I know get a level of respect in death, that those I dont know, well.... wont get.

[Gunfixr]

Dont worry about shitting yourself before jumping, most shit themselves at the point of death anyway, so no one will know.
We all live until we all die. None of us is ever promised another day. I have seen my death comin fast, with nothing i could do about it, accepted it, but it didnt happen. I have layed upon my deathbed, minutes from death, totally miserable, and accepted it, before coming back. That second time was almost 18yrs ago now.

Death smiles at us all, he knows, in the end, he wins. About all a man can do is smile back.

And take care of the remains.