lurkette

Hey folks -

Many of you know that my brother Josh died about 3 & 1/2 years ago - he was 25, he was a skater, and he was hit by a car. If you want to read more about the whole thing and what it's meant to me, you can visit my memorial site for him at http://marcyray.net/josh.htm

My family has been slow to do anything with his ashes - it's so final, and he was such a nomad that it's hard to know where to scatter them! So a while ago, I hit upon the idea of scattering a little bit of his ashes in all the places he wanted to go but didn't get a chance to. Right before he was hit, we were talking about going to Australia together, so when a friend of mine went to Melbourne, she took a little baggie of his ashes with her and scattered them at a skate park.

So far that's the only thing I've done (aside from scattering some at Venice Beach at his memorial, putting some of his ashes in a little pendant, and giving some of them to my dad in an urn).

So I would love it if people around the world (and within the US) with a willing spirit from TFP would help me out. I'd love to send his ashes to places I know he wanted to visit:

- more places in Australia
- Japan
- Sweden
- Vancouver
- Czech republic (specifically, the ossuary in Kutna Hora)

as well as to places I know he loved:
- San Diego
- San Francisco

along with any other places you think are cool. Skate parks are great, but he was also a dedicated trespasser and pisser off of police by skating in public areas.

So if you're willing to do the somewhat morbid duty of receiving his ashes, scattering them in an appropriate place, and documenting it (photos or video, to be posted on his memorial site) please let me know and we'll figure out how to mail you the ashes. It would mean so much to me to have more people know who he was and participate in spreading his spirit around the world.

P.S. Yesterday was his birthday - he would have been 29. Know what's cool? My best friend from high school, whose brother was Josh's good friend, just had her first baby yesterday! Now we have a new life to celebrate on his day.

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Bill O'Rights

You neglected to remind me to drink another bottle of that nasty assed Mike's Hard Lemonade? You do realize that's the only reason that bottled nastiness haunts my cabinet?

Still....


I'm game...if you want a little piece of him in Omaha (though why...I could not guess). There are a few skate parks here, and more than a few places where the police habitually extricate those damn skate punks.

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lurkette

Awesome - I was born in Omaha, you know, and my parents both grew up there. Email me your snail mail addy and I'll send you a bag o' Josh

This hereby exempts you from all Mike's Hard Lemonade duty in the future.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Willravel

Was there anywhere in particular in San Francisco that he liked to be (preferably somewhere where his ashes would lay undisturbed)? I'd like to help.

ShaniFaye

be sure to note that human remains (even cremated ones) cannot be sent any way thru the postal service but Registered Mail with return receipt and the package must be marked as containing such

http://www.cremationassociation.org/docs/remains.pdf

(just didnt want you to run the risk of it not making it to its destination)

as a note...you cannot send them via fedex or ups at all

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aberkok

Hey Lurkette. I don't know if he would have wanted to skate in Toronto, but I can definitely think of a few good places. I'd be happy to help your bro explore some Toronto spots!

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maleficent

I'll volunteer either New Hampshire or Chicago -

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Gatorade Frost

There's a small chance I'll be in the czech republic in the next year.

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genuinegirly

Looks like willravel has San Francisco covered. I'll let you know if I travel anytime soon.

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Crack

Cincinnati or Dayton Ohio here, if you wanted

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shoegirl

same here, i'd be more than happy to help. plus, i go to Lexington, Kentucky at least once a year and I'll also be heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the next year.

lurkette

Sweet, thanks guys! PM me and I'll arrange to get your snail mail addresses.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

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noodle

No skate parks I can think of, but if he'd like to go swimming off Jacksonville Beach, let me know.

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The_Jazz

Chicago
Minneapolis
Kohler, WI
Knoxville, TN
Lincoln, NE
Las Vegas
St. Louis
Raleigh, NC
Little Rock, AR
San Diego

All of them are on my travel docket for the next 60 days, so let me know. I can always make a side trip to a skate park, or better yet the kind of place where he would have been banned from skating (office building, city hall, etc.). Just let me know.

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rmarshall

That's cool! My stepmom just died in April and said in her will she wanted to be scattered in Brown's Bay near Wolfe Island. We had a family reunion three weeks ago and scattered most of it there. My sister wanted some to take back home with her.

Now I have an empty $1000 bronze urn. It was engraved with my stepmom's name for the memorial. We're thinking of making a new family tradition. Everybody who dies gets time in the urn and their name engraved. Sortof like the Stanley cup.

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lurkette

Cool! Josh makes the tour with The Jazz!

Let me know where to ship them - too cool, and thanks!

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

snowy

If you would like to send a little bit to Oregon I'd be glad to help...we have some very cool skate parks in the area.

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Charlatan

Lurkette

If you can get some of the ashes to Singapore, I am sure I can find somewhere cool (well, hot actually) to spread his ashes.

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laconic1

I like that idea. Although I hope it is a good twenty years before I have to deal with something like this it would be kind of neat to have something like that, morbid as it is to pass down through the generations.

Ratman

Pm me for Japan. I'd be happy to help.

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NoSoup

Although I'm not certain he'd be interested, I'm up for helping out if need be.

I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin - not much around here as far as skate parks go, but we do have the Great Lakes nearby as well as our claim to fame - The Packers. If he was a football fan I can't think of a better place to be than Titletown.

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guthmund

Let me say, I think this whole idea is really very cool.

There's not much in the way of...well, anything in my neck of the Arkansas woods excepting Branson, Missouri which is a couple of hours away and the state's largest Wal*Mart.

If, however, bad country music and low, low prices were his thing, then I'd be happy to help.

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lurkette

I think he liked the Embarcadero area, and anywhere skater punks hang out.

Thanks!

I'm sure I can get them there somehow. Let me know where to send them. I know there are skate parks in Singapore.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

tecoyah

Look for a skate park getting an Upgrade/construction....and ask to have his ashes mixed into the Concrete. Might even get Local Media involved....would make a great , and inspirational Human Interest story.

Good Luck, and much respect goes your way.

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Cervantes

Well... I live in Sweden and would love to help out, I live in the northern part of Sweden which is more known for skiing and snowboarding than skating so I don't know of any real skateparks around here, maybe in nature? or at a ski hill or something?.. I'll pop you an IM just in case..

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lurkette

For those of you who have been kind enough to offer to scatter Josh's ashes, I am waiting to get some stickers that I ordered that have a drawing of Josh one of his friends did when he moved to LA. I should have them some time next week, if you wouldn't mind handing them out or sticking them to lampposts or something

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

maleficent

so you're suggesting we deface public property? OK, I can do that

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lurkette

Josh would have approved

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Pip

Best. Idea. Ever.

Seriously. My close family is not too keen on traditional graves with all the trimmings, so this could be something worth considering.

Also, I live in Stockholm, beautiful capital of Sweden, where we do have skateboard parks. So I'd love to scatter some ashes there. Here. Whatever.

oberon

I'd be happy to spread some at the Denver Skate Park. If it helps in your desire for variety in location, I could also keep some until next time I'm up in the mountains, then spread them at the summit of, say, Loveland Pass (el. 11,990 ft/3,655 m) on the Continental Divide, where the snow never melts. I'd be happy to vandalize either place with a sticker too.

The Embarcadero (& nearby Wharf) in San Francisco is awesome. Definitely among my favorite places to visit in the bay area.

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JustJess

Obviously, we have NYC covered if he would have liked NYC. Or you can do that yourself next time you're up here!

Awesome idea. I really like it, and I bet he would too. :*

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raeanna74

I doubt he would have enjoyed cold boring Wisconsin. I'll help if you wish, even though Wisconsin isn't on your list.

I just think this is such a great idea and the offers to help out are incredible. I just love TFP.

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smooth

if I were scattering me (born and bred local skater) in san diego, I'd choose belmont park in mission beach. the days of rumbling with the pigs are long gone, imo, but it still hosts badass parties and cool bars, hot HOT women strolling around in bikinis all year long, a nifty little wooden rollercoaster, and MB/PB hosts the fuckn x-games!

I cruise home every couple weeks from the OC, so easy peasy for me to do.
in the interim, I can hit long beach if he's interested.

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lurkette

Sweet - you guys are awesome! Pip, Smooth, Oberon, Jess, PM me your snail mail addresses and I'll send 'em along when I get the stickers!

And raeanna, since Wisconsin was just next door (we grew up in MN) I bet he'd love to be scattered anywhere there are local skater punks.

I love you guys.

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

dlish

lurkette

im in sydney australia ..if i can be of help.

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lurkette

Beautiful! Sydney is where we were planning to travel together. It would be wonderful if you could scatter some ashes. PM me your address.

The stickers should be ready in a week or so, and then I'll start mailing ashes around!

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

dlish

anywhere in particular you were thinking of visiting in sydney?

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splck

I'm in for Vancouver. was there any place special he had mentioned?

PM me and I'll help any way I can.

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nice line eh?

Fly

i'm near splck too...........a whole shitload of skate parks here.

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lurkette

Awesome - maybe the two of you could do a mini-meetup to scatter them, or I could send ashes to both of you and you could hit multiple skate parks. Let me know what works best for you. thanks!

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France