We’ve all heard: “Kids say the darndest things.” Well, here’s a story from my family.
Years ago, when two of my sisters and two of my young nieces were visiting me in Tennessee, I was playing tour guide, showing them all things family-related—old homeplaces, cemeteries, etc.
As we passed near Nashville’s National Cemetery, I told them we had a paternal great-uncle who’d fought in World War I, and his grave was located there.
Upon hearing this, my youngest niece asked: “Do you have to die to be buried there?”
The absurdity of her question, asked in all seriousness, nearly made me drive off the road. When everyone stopped laughing, I simply said, “Yes, it helps.”
I knew she was really asking: “Do you have to die in war to be buried there?” But that’s not how it came out.
While we laughed at her question back then, the truth is, over the centuries people have been buried alive. Before we had machines to tell us a person had died, declaring someone dead wasn’t a perfect science.
So, to honestly answer her question: No, dear niece, you don’t have to die to be buried there, but it’s best if you do.
Come back next week for Did You Know You Can Be Alive And Still Be Pronounced Dead? a Truth-is-Stranger-than-Fiction tale.
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