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COMMUNITY
8 SIGNAL TRIBUNE
APRIL 5, 2013
Handling a delicate form of cargo A Matter of Life
Kenneth McKenzie Columnist
I received a call a few days ago from a woman while she was reading the daily obituaries. She told me, “I have a very strange question.� I told her that I had heard it all. “Well then, first of all I check the obituaries every morning to make sure my name is not listed, and if not, I plan my day.� I laughed, knowing at that moment I would enjoy her question.
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deceased person to ticketing, nor do we go to baggage claim. There is an area at most airports that handle cargo, everything from fresh flowers to living pets and sundries can be found next to the deceased. The cargo area is usually located at the far end of an airport. Typically we arrive two to four hours prior to the scheduled flight. After some paperwork, the deceased/casket/shipping container is weighed. The unit is then placed into a luggage cart, which is attached to their mini tractors, like a small train. The cart has its own curtain, so the deceased’s container is not displayed to everyone inside the airport looking out. The weight of each container is an important factor of when and where the deceased is placed on the aircraft so as to distribute the weight properly. Large commercial airlines typically can handle up to two human remains on board each flight. At the destination, the receiving funeral director will arrive two to four hours after the flight has landed, to give time to move the deceased to air cargo. There, the receiving funeral director will take the deceased to the hometown funeral home and complete the funeral services and burial. The cost of the actual flight to send a deceased within the U.S. averages about $700 and overseas averages about $2,100.
The First Fridays Art Walk in Bixby Knolls on April 5 will be a “green scene� in celebration of spring and Mother Earth. Songbirds, guerilla gardeners, seeds & saplings, recyclers, re-users, Earth goddesses and organic farmers are encouraged to show up and “green up� Bixby Knolls. Ingredients of the night will include: live art and interactive art activities, the world’s tallest tree-hugger, break-dancers, bluegrass prodigies, reggae, blues, jazz, indie rock, up-cycled art, politicos, the Port of Long Beach, student recitals, “pot your own sunflowers,� Toaster Music sound installation, Hughes Middle School’s Green Team & Re-use Exhibit, Cal Heights Clean Streets, slam poetry, friendly goats, Conservn Mervyn and the Knolls Ranger mascot, dramatic scenes, free books, gift items, antiques, and the Big Red Bus. Other special features: Exene Cervenka of the punk band X will perform with Long Beach native Michelle Mangione at The Mirage Cafe, 539 E Bixby Rd. Salon Medusa, 4232
Atlantic Ave., in conjunction with the Surfrider Foundation, will host an Aveda silent auction to raise money for clean water. Seventh District Councilmember James Johnson’s “First Books at First Fridays� at the Dana Branch Library, 3680 Atlantic Ave., will feature Fire Chief Mike Duree at 5:30pm. Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin’s “Council on Your Corner� will be set up at Atlantic Avenue and Burlinghall Drive to meet and greet attendees. Attendees may dine on “Art-Lantic� Avenue at one of the local restaurants then grab the Big Red Bus to travel from venue to venue via designated stops at the participating businesses. Bella Cosa, 3803 Atlantic Ave., will have all the information about First Fridays, maps, business info, and restaurant recommendations from 6:30pm to 8pm.
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She had noticed that the mortuary had been sending a lot of people out of state and even out of the country. She asked, while giggling a little, “How do you get them on the plane? Where do they sit on the plane?� California and Florida seem to have the greatest number of persons being shipped out of their states. Many people live in these locations later in life due to weather, and many others are visiting or vacationing. When a person dies away from home, the funeral director in the person’s home town will usually contact a well known funeral director to represent them in the state of death. The funeral home in the death state picks up the person where they died, performs embalming, shrouds (wraps in white sheeting) the body, and places it in a shipping unit. This unit takes the place of a casket and is required by the airlines to protect the body and to move the remains on and off the plane. If you do not want to be embalmed, you do not have to be. Dry ice would replace the embalming procedure. Some people having funeral services within the death state would first be dressed and placed in a casket, have their funeral service and then the casket would be placed into a shipping container. Funeral directors do not take a
MORE INFORMATION firstfridayslongbeach.com
City of Signal Hill Community Services Department
Community Garden The City of Signal Hill is considering development of a Community Garden adjacent to Signal Hill Park. The Parks and Recreation Commission will be considering this project at their meeting on Wednesday, April 10, at 6pm at the Signal Hill City Council Chamber. Interested parties are invited to attend. We are creating an interest list at this time. If you would like to be included on the list, please contact us at ComServices@cityofsignalhill.org or (562) 989-7330. Signal Hill residents will be given priority consideration, but all interested parties are welcome.
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