Re-hearse

Yesterday Ana and I drove into the petrol station, and I was taken aback by the vehicle in front of us.

Focussing on getting fuel into her vehicle, Ana hadn't really noticed it.

I watched intrigued as the owner finished fuelling the car and I realised it was a pre 1985 hearse!

"Well, I guess there's not much need to replace a hearse in a small town like ours and one would probably last for years," I thought.

"Where does one buy a hearse from? Would it be difficult to find parts?" I wondered. "If one replaces such a vehicle, would you call that a 're-hearsal'?"

According to one web-site, a new hearse can set you back around $135,000. But you can purchase a second-hand one (1982 Ford Falcon XE) from Ebay with the current bid sitting at just over $4,000. (The present owner claims he's had some supernatural experiences in the vehicle which may be an added attraction.)

But perhaps you can't afford the full sized variety - in which case you might like to purchase a die-cast one, some of which come complete with a miniature coffin:

• 1938 Cadillac Carved Maroon Hearse = $119
• 1924 Hawkeye Hearse = $49.99
• 1921 Ford Model T Hearse = $190
• 1963 Cadillac Hearse = $8
• 1966 Cadillac Hearse = $190

What an interesting concept for collecting: miniature hearses, though with prices regularly sitting at $190, it may turn into an expensive hobby.

But for the woman who has everything, how about some fabric covered in funky cartoon hearses, at just $25/m?

At one time in Sydney, you could join a tour group (Destiny Tours) in a hearse which visited ghostly and ghoulish places, including the scenes of famous murders. While the hearses are no longer used, they still provide the tour though using an unremarkable mini-bus.

It was while searching the net that I found several images of hearses in junkyards or left to rot in a vacant lot somewhere. How sad some of these vehicles looked. In their heyday, they could have taken thousands of people to their final resting places, and here they were, after their death, left abandoned and unloved. I thought it was kind of ironic.

I recall hearing a Christian speaker talk about the time her friends helped her to celebrate her 50th birthday. The event started with her friends turning up in a hearse to take her out! She thought it was hilarious, though I'm sure that there are many people who would not be impressed about the reminder of impending death!