musings about politics, sports, music and life

3/24/2005


The Wake

Burying Tradition, More People Opt for "Fun" Funerals
by Carrie Dolan

For some, new rites of passage include parties, boat rides and psychedelic caskets

Sacramento, California - In a hotel ballroom here, about 3,000 revellers float among bouquets of balloons and mingle around a trio of bars. An ice sculpture drips over the buffet. A 7-piece band, led by a vocalist in a black lace dress, blares out James Brown's I Feel Good. In the midst of the action is the party's host - lying in a flag-draped coffin.

He was B T Collins, a popular California state legislator, who died of a heart attack in March at age 52. A former Green Beret who lost an arm and a leg in the Vietnam War, he was fond of unconventional tributes. He marked his 50th birthday with a parachute jump and once donated a urinal to Santa Clara University's school of law, his alma mater. Known for his disdain for protocol and his love of a good time, he had set aside funds to celebrate his passing. As for his attendance at the festivities, Nora Romero, his longtime administrative assistant, asks: "You don't think B T would miss his own party, do you?"
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