How To Plan A Kick Ass Funeral

The Big Hoopla packed up its wares and went to a trade show recently with mixed results. Attendees either loved our “Romance Explosion” series or said, ‘EEEEWWWW, who wants to have sex?’

Parents of teens snapped up our series about teaching teens responsible money management and plenty of girlfriends grabbed our “Love Him or Leave Him” cards for themselves or, frequently, for a girlfriend.

But definitely the one package that got the biggest response was our “How to Plan a Kickass Funeral”.  Attendees either grabbed the package with delight or hurled vicious looks at us…seriously, I was amazed at people who seemed to think that if you ignore death, you’ll avoid it.

So I was especially enthralled to read this article in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune about Eileen Hagarty, a former nurse who has ALS http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-nurse-als-goodbye-20101204,0,5437235.story .  Eileen is determined to squeeze out all of the gusto left in her life and she’s doing it with a conviction that we could all use in our approach to life.

Eileen is actively helping her family members prepare for life after her death. And she has planned her funeral. Eileen gets what we are helping people do in “Kickass Funeral”. She has picked out songs, identified the cemetery plot where she’ll be buried, and written what’s going to be engraved on her tombstone.

In acts that define her love and compassion for family and friends, Eileen Hagarty is ending her life the way she clearly lived it – with passion, enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

We know there are lots of Eileens out there and that’s why we created “Kickass Funeral”. Not all of us know that our demise is as imminent as Eileen’s is. But one thing we all need to admit to ourselves is that – whether we’re ready or not – we are definitely going to die. So, if you’re the kind of person who plans your events down to the tiniest detail – then you’re someone who will love and appreciate “How to Plan a Kickass Funeral”.