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New Choices For Burial

Until recently there were two basic choices for the disposition of one's earthly remains: getting buried whole and then slowly decomposing; or being cremated, funneled into some urn, then left on a mantle to collect dust.
    That's so yesterday. Now we've got options...

 Like in "The Graduate," when Mr. Robinson shouted, "Plastics!" to Benjamin, a young guy trying to figure out his post-college destiny, Eternal Reefs Inc. says to all afterlife-minded consumers, "Reef balls!"
    A new wave in funereal futures, the company makes artificial underwater reefs from authentically incinerated dead people. Yes, Eternal Reefs will take your ashes, aka "cremains," cast them in concrete, ID the orb with a bronze plaque, then place it inside a designated state, federally and locally approved coral reef.
    According to their literature, reef ball-encrusted habitats help our waning coral populations and offer hope for fish, sea turtles and other forms of marine life now dwindling due to man's over-fishing and other ecological faux pas. Per Eternal Reefs and many of their online testimonials, they also provide environmental and nautically minded families a beautiful, serene and stationary alternative to scattering ashes at sea.
    Reef ball manufacture, placement and appurtenant services range in cost from $995 to $4,995. Designed to last more than 500 years, the balls can be visited by relatives via boat or deep-sea dive. But how does one find them, you ask? Reef estate executors receive a certificate identifying the longitude and latitude of their loved one's memorial.

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