the recession claims more victims

in one of the saddest states of the economy i've seen yet, the los angeles times reports that more and more people are leaving the bodies of their dead in the custody of the state because they can't afford to collect the remains.

i can't imagine what it must be like not only to have to deal with the death of someone, but to then be burdened with the guilt of not being able to honor them with a ceremony, burial, or even an urn.

it's kind of a sick, sad reason that i wish six feet under was still on the air. the show dealt several times with bodies going unclaimed, but never for a monetary reason. there was a memorable episode when david tried to upsell a family on a casket. i don't think funeral homes are inherently evil [ not all anyway ], but in a bit of macabre irony, they, too, are just trying to ride out the economic tide.

someone more thoughtful than i... go make a show about this.