At some point, we all go on our way. On to the other side of things. The old saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.” But it appears that many people have tried.
History tells us this. Ancient Egyptians buried their dead with meaningful artifacts they might need in the afterlife. Like jars of food and their favorite kitty cats. Oh, such is life. It seems that the ritual is still a common occurrence today. But our reasons are probably different. In modern times, it’s usually intended as a final tribute to the deceased.
So. What do we take with us now? Here are the items that certain well-known celebrities took with them.
Frank Sinatra // A Flask of Jack Daniels
Tony Curtis // An iPhone and Splenda
Humphrey Bogart // A Golden Whistle
Roald Dahl // Snooker Cues, HB pencils, a Power Saw, Chocolates, and Red Wine
Leonard Bernstein // Alice in Wonderland
Ronnie Van Zant // Fishing Pole and Black Hat
Bela Lugosi // A Dracula Cape
Bob Marley // Red Gibson Les Paul Guitar and Weed
Andy Warhol // Interview Magazines and Estée Lauder Perfume
Elizabeth Taylor // Her Last Love Letter from Richard Burton
Some of the interesting ones?
Frank Sinatra and his flask of Jack Daniels.
It was well known that Sinatra always drank two fingers of Jack on ice with a splash of water. A lot.
After Frank’s death in 1998, Sinatra’s family thought it would be fitting to keep the practice going. So, they sent Ol’ Blue Eyes off with a flask for the road.
Rumor has that they also left him with a roll of dimes, just in case he wanted to make some phone calls from the great beyond. Phone home.
The next good one is Humphrey Bogart and his Golden Whistle.
This one dates back to the early days. Lauren Bacall, in her movie debut in To Have and Have Not (1944), told Humphrey Bogart, “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and … blow.”
Those two fell lovely in love. And, sometime during their fabled love affair and marriage, Bogie gave Bacall a golden whistle charm to honor the meeting.
When he died in 1957, the charm was buried with his ashes. Bacall had it engraved with the phrase, “If you want anything, just whistle.” I think this id so very sweet.
And what about this one? Leonard Bernstein and his copy of Alice in Wonderland.
He was buried with his conducting baton. And also with the score of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. But Leonard Bernstein was also buried with a copy of the book he always took with him on his travels. And that was Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. He must have loved that story.
Finally, a look at that quirky Andy Warhol
Warhol’s burial items weren’t exactly approved by his family. The scene was rather dramatic at the graveside. As his casket was being lowered into the ground, his longtime friend Paige Powell ran forward. She tossed some of Andy’s magazines and a bottle of Estée Lauder’s Beautiful perfume into the hole.
No one knows the exact significance of the perfume. But, Warhol liked to wear fragrances for three months and then “catalog” them to remember certain periods in his life by the scent.
Our lives are here impermanently. Hopefully, we are making the most of our time. If we can, when we can. But things are just things. I doubt we will be in touch with the bobbles that we hold dearly in this life.
And so we go.
Let us always remember, though, that our time is for learning. And growth. But more than anything, we are all worthy of our own patience, kindness, and self-compassion.
May we walk gently as we move through our lives.
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“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”
—Chuck Palahniuk
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“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
—Thomas Campbell
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“The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her culture.”
—Plato
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