16A
RELIGION/ The Charlotte Post
January 25, 1996
Cremation nearly eelipses burial as funeral favorite
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A
famed Orlando fireworks
artist told his family funerals
are too morbid and burial too
expensive and - like growing
numbers of Floridians - asked
to be cremated when he died.
Most of those people won't
have their ashes scattered in a
Fourth of July blaze of glory
like Vic Vickers, the owner of
Animated Pyrotechnic
Creations Fireworks who said,
“You shouldn't have any dark
sky."
But they may have similar
ideas about final resting
places.
“Both my parents decided
cremation was the only way to
go," said Vickers' son, Steve.
‘You're dead, you're gone, you
move on to the next plane of
existence."
Cremation remains unpopu
lar with Hispanics, who favor
funerals, and with many
blacks, whose churches teach
that a body is necessary for
resurrection on Judgement
Day.
“Some churches believe if
you're cremated, you can't
come forth from the grave.
There's nothing to be resur
rected,” said Elsie Hipps,
Vickers' minister at the
United Church of Religious
Science. The Catholic Church
removed its opposition to cre
mation in 1963, and other
denominations have followed.
Among whites, the number
of cremations reached 56,614
compared to 51,389 burials in
1994. Among non-whites,
there were 13,122 burials and
2,046 cremations.
Vickers was known for build
ing Fourth of July fireworks
at Lake Eola from a modest
display 21 years ago to a traf
fic-stopping extravaganza.
“I see him at Lake Eola at
the Fourth of July with tears
in his eyes watching the finale
go off," said his daughter,
Valerie Engard. “No matter
how many times he did the
show, the finale was so close
to his heart that he always
cried."
Vickers died Jan. 3 at age
74. On the Fourth of July,
Steve Vickers plans to pack
his father's ashes into an
eight-inch diameter shell that
will rocket 800 feet into the
air.
With a spray of sparks, a
white flash and a boom that
will thump in the chests of
spectators, Vic Vickers will
become a puff of white dust in
the sky.
Cremation cost $800, while a
full burial with casket, ser
vices, cemetery plot and mark
er would have cost $12,000,
Steve Vickers said.
And though cremation was
chosen only about one-fourth
of the time in 1980, it has now
become nearly as frequent as
burial in Florida.
By 1994, the most recent fig
ure available, there were
64,511 burials and 58,660 cre
mations in Florida.
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ROGER GREEN, Administrator CONNIE GREEN, Director
Emergency kit solves last-minute problems
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STARKVILLE, Miss. -
Every couple hopes to look
perfect on their wedding day,
but unfortunately, accidents
do happen. Planning ahead
can help keep small problems
from becoming big disasters.
Assembling an emergency
wedding day fix-it kit to bring
to the wedding site takes some
time, but can be well worth
the effort if accidents happen
on the big day.
“There are three main emer
gency needs that can arise on
the wedding day," said
Everlyn Johnson, extension
clothing specialist at
Mississippi State University.
“These include needs for quick
fixes for wedding attire, first
aid and makeup/'
Assemble the kit in a box or
bag and make sure it goes to
the wedding site when you do.
The kits can be personalized
to meet any special needs the
bride or groom may have.
Johnson recommended the
following items for last-
minute wedding attire
repairs:
• To secure loose seams,
beads or sequins, include safe
ty pins, scissors, a needle and
thread, matte finish clear
tape, bobby pins and fabric
glue. Bring extra buttons for
suits and dresses if available.
• For spots or spills on
dresses or fabric shoes,
include stain-covering chalk
as a quick fix or a bottle of
spot remover.
• To prevent sagging bou
tonnieres, corsages or ear
rings, bring extra pins and
earring backs.
• To keep from slipping in
new wedding shoes, bring a
nail file or sandpaper to scuff
the bottoms of the shoes.
• For scuffs on men's shoes,
add shoe polish to the kit, and
bring a lint brush for suit
jackets.
• To touch up manicures and
stop pantyhose runs, add clear
nail polish to the kit.
Johnson said the dresses of
brides and bridesmaids likely
will be made of delicate fab
rics in colors that are easily
stained.
“Some wedding day stains
come from water or other liq
uids, which will cause many
dyes to shift or spot; hairspray
and perfume, which have high
alcohol contents and can
remove dyes; and makeup and
deodorant stains," Johnson
said.
To prevent stains and spots,
brides should bring a sheet,
robe or large towel to drape
across themselves before
touching up makeup, using
hairspray or having a pre
wedding snack or beverage.
“Having quick-fix items
handy can save a panicked,
time-consuming trip back
home or to a grocery store,"
Johnson said. “In the rushed
hours before a wedding, acci
dents do happen, so be sure to
add some first-aid items to the
kit."
Wedding day first aid sup
plies should include medicines
for headaches and nausea,
antacids, breath mints, cough
drops, plastic bandages, a
Women of the world unite: Shopping,
cooking no longer focus for all of us
By Jim Shelton
NEW HAVEN REGISTER
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
Every Tuesday at the First
Baptist Church, women of the
world unite.
They come from France,
India, Jamaica and Peru.
They come from Switzerland,
Thailand and Poland, too.
They also hail from Norway,
Brazil, China and Turkey.
They're Round-the-World
Women, in name as well as in
fact.
“We have women from 23
different countries this year,"
says Pat Cavanaugh of
Hamden, co-a coordinator of
Round-the-World Women.
The group is an all-volunteer
organization, run through the
International Center of New
Haven, that helps women
from foreign countries adjust
to life in America. Help comes
through weekly lectures,
social gatherings, concerts
and trips, as well as friend
ship.
“Before I joined I was very
lonely," says Miki Ashizawa,
who moved to New Haven
about a year ago from Japan.
Her husband is a chemist
working in Trumbull.
“I didn't have any friends
here,” Ashizawa says. “My
(realty agent) showed me the
brochure of this group, and
the people here have been
very kind."
This year is the 35th
anniversary of Round-the-
World Women, notes Patricia
Pearson, executive director of
the International Center.
“It truly is international,"
Pearson says. “These women
form a network to make their
lives happier and more pleas
ant and easier while they live
here."
Originally, the group was
intended to help foreign-born
wives of Yale students, faculty
and staff. The name back then
was Round-the-World Wives,
and focused on such things as
shopping and cooking.
Today's version of the group
also looks at such issues as
educational opportunities for
women, women's health and
the role of women in society.
“They've had to broaden
their programs to be issue-ori
ented and more provocative,
not just be about flower
arranging and food shopping
and cooking," Pearson says.
Still, members say cama
raderie is still the primary
mission of the group.
“That's how we help each
other the most. Getting
through the practical, hard
parts of life," says Cindi
Meurice of Hamden. Her hus
band is French and she joined
the group two years ago
because she understood the
difficulties of moving to a for
eign country.
Myriam MacDowell of
Woodbridge, another co-coor
dinator of the group, under
stands those difficulties also.
“I'm a foreigner myself,"
MacDowell says. “I'm from
Brazil. So I have that in com
mon with the women each
year.
MacDowell says members of
Round-the-World Women
make emotional attachments
that last many years. A group
of former members from
Japan, for example, has set up
a Round-the-World Women
chapter in Tokyo.
Another example is Evelyn
Kagagube, a Ugandan woman
who was expecting her fourth
child. Kagagube's husband
had traveled to England for a
job interview, but was unable
• to get back into the United
States and had to return to
Uganda.
When the Kagagubes' child
was born, the baby was found
to have a severe heart ail
ment, requiring long-term
hospital care.
“She's such a brave woman,"
MacDowell says. "We offered
her as much support as we
could, bringing her food and
staying with her." After many
months, Round-the-World
Women and the Red Cross
established a fund that raised
enough money to reunite the
family.
“She still keeps in touch
with us," MacDowell says.
Other success stories from
Round-the-World Women are
less dramatic, but no less
important, members say.
Elke Assfalg-Stoertkuhl, of
Germany, says it means a lot
to her not to be the only per
son in the room who doesn't
speak perfect English;
Thailand native Walaiporn
Black appreciates the chance
to be around other young
moms who are raising chil
dren far from home.
At Round-the-World
Women's recent Christmas
party, Ashizawa used her tal
ents to entertain the group.
She gave a flute concert.
“It was my way to say, thank
you," she said.
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small snack, tissues and eye
drops.
To keep the bridal party pic
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kit, makeup remover, a small
mirror, moisturizer, lip balm,
cotton balls and swabs to the
emergency kit.
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WITH THE DIVAS
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Conceived and Produced by
CURTIS KING
Barbara Conrad
Mezzo-Soprano
Metropolitan Opera
OF THE
Junior Black Academy of Arts
AND Letters, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
Presented by the
The Deltas Of
Charlotte, Inc. Of The
Charlotte Alumnae
Chapter of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc.
Mary Wilson
Pop (former Si]preme)Legend
■WITH THE
CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
Janna Hymes conducting
VOICES OF CAROUNA
(Choral Ensemble - Nancy C. Wilson Director)
And special PIANO CONCERTO
BY NATIVE CHARLOTTEAN Jackie Hairston
Tramaine Hawkins
Grammy Winner
Gospel Extraordinaire
Saturday January 27,1996 - 8:00 p.m.
Ovens Auditorium ■ 2700 East Independence Blvd. • Charlotte, NC
$50-Orchestra $40-Mezzanine $25-Balcony
Reception to meet the artists and orchestra will follow the concert. Black tie optional
' ’For tickets call: Charlotte Symphony Box Office: (704)332-6136 10AM-5PM
’ On Day of Show call Ovens Auditorium at: 335-3100
> For additional information call: Daisy Spears Stroud (704)392-4753
CHARLOTTE
SYMPHONY
Peter McCoppin, iAusic director