Dying to be green

From G Magazine, May 2008:
My mother wants to be composted when she dies. Not just in a figurative "give my body to the Earth" way, but in a way that befits someone whose passion for gardening knows no bounds.
Her final act will be to produce the lushest crop of tomatoes and zucchini her garden and this world has ever seen. I'm not entirely sure what the health department will make of this request, but my mother doesn't care. She'll be dead.
As the Baby Boomers enter their twilight years and begin to consider the details of their demise, it's no surprise that this enterprising generation are pushing the boundaries when it comes to their funerals. And with the environment front and centre of society's conscience, many are planning their funerals with future generations in mind. Read more.

Spinal research steps ahead for cure

From The Australian, 12 April 2008:
SUPERMAN was one of the relatively lucky ones. The fall from a horse that crushed actor Christopher Reeve's spinal cord may have robbed him of his ability to walk, move or even breathe without help, but he still had money, and he had support.
Unlike so many people incapacitated by spinal cord injury, Reeve was surrounded by a caring family and support, could afford the considerable expense of adapting his home and life to his new circumstances, and was also a powerful, visible campaigner for research into spinal cord injury.
It's a far cry from the majority experience of spinal cord injury victims, most of whom are young men injured in accidents. Read more.

So friendly, but practically useless

From Heckler column, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 March 2006:
"Hello, madam, my name is Rashid. How may I help you today?"
And there, the soft voice with a pleasant lilt to it, full of willingness and unfailingly polite, is my demon. On the other side of the world, stuck in a room full of others like him, burning the midnight oil to pay his way through university, this man is the source of my angst, torture and intense frustration. Read more.