Summaries from March 9th & April 1st
A write up of Special Edition! Tucson Death Cafe
March 9th Special Edition:
Sunday afternoon, March 9th, Tucson featured a special edition Death Cafe at Marana Mortuary. People gathered in the mortuary meeting space for discussion. About 16 folks were in attendance. People enjoyed refreshments and easy open talk across the spacious room. Some things that were shared were anecdotes about burial experiences, differences among various religions and cultures, and needs that are served through funerals and other kinds of events that acknowledge death.
April Fools Edition:
Tucson Death Cafe met for the19th time the evening of April 1st. No fooling! The crowd showing up at Moe's continues to grow and it seems of note that more men are attending, too. We wonder what is influencing this. A more central location is likely one factor. Whatever else, it is all good. The evening began with a review of death cafe guidelines, then self-introductions around the room. During this, facilitators Kristine and Cindy invited folks to express anything that was on their mind that they would like to talk about. This then might become a prompt for a smaller group. Ethical wills and intentional or planned death were two of the interests that were put out to the crowd by attendees.
Someone expressed an interest in "field trips." This was timely since the guideline review included a reminder that death cafe is not for endorsing any point of view or for marketing use. That understood, cafes can be held at other locations and suggestions would be entertained. The evening temps were mild, so as we broke into little groups it was nice to be able to spread out into the outdoors patios. This writer had no particular thing in mind to talk about, and it was nice to just let discussion wander. When we reconvened as the whole group to close, it seemed to me that it didn't matter what we talked about in our small groups. Just being in a place where it was ok to acknowledge death made for a meaningful experience.