What's your plan formaking a lasting mark on the earth? From the silly to the sublime, here are 15 innovative ideas
by Melissa Gottharadt, AARP Magazine, Sept/Oct 2002
"Legacy" has always been a well-burnished word, filled with significance because no other word does its job so well. Legacies are big and resonant, the kind of hollow-gourd concept that sounds venerable, virtuous, and important--because it is--while inheritances reduce to certain utilitarian smallness. Everybody knows that a check, in and of itself, is not a legacy. Not even "bequest,' with its grand scale, works as well. Bequests are for college libraries and church halls, not for humans...
1. Put down roots. Preserve a green future for your decendants by planting a tree. For a $10 donation, The National Arbor Day Foundation will place 10 trees in national forests destroyed by fire, disease, or insects...call 888-448-7337.
2. Leave 'em smiling. Why trust your immortality to garden-variety inscriptions like "Gone, but not forgotten?" Epitaph artist Lance Hardie of Arcata, California can work up something truly memorable. From Hardie's web site comes an example of an epitaph he admires. It graces the headstone of attorney Sir John Strange; "Here lies an honest lawyer, and that is Strange." Hardie's fee: $1,000. 707-822-6924.
3. Pave the Way. Buy a brick in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvannia. It will be randomly set along the streets of the town where Lincoln gave his famous address. To order a $60 brick, call 717-337-3491.
4. Tell your life story. If writing your own book seems daunting, try The Book of Myself: A Do-it-Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions by Carl and David Marshall (Hyperion). The fill-in journal cost about $12 at bookstores and online booksellers.
5. Bury treasure. Future Packing and Preservation offers time capsules from $80; stainless steel containers save documents for your descendants to dig up and presumably study. Info: 800-786-6627.
6. Show them what you're made of. Do a service to the generations that follow you by making a "portrait" of your genetic strengths and weaknesses. GeneLink will preserve and bank your genetic blueprint for 75 years. Cost of the DNA collection kit, including long-term storage, is $395. Info: 800-558-4363.
7. Share the wealth. More than half of American adults die without a will. A lawyer can set one up for about $500. Or create your own with Nolo's Quicken Lawyer. The $40 software covers everything from who gets what to funeral arrangemnts. The documents are legally accepted in all states except Louisiana. Info: 800-992-6656.
8. Remembering mummy. Give yourself a sendoff worthy of Tutankhamen, courtesy of Summum's Mummificatin Services. They'll embalm, wrap, seal and weld you into a Mummiform (a kind of modern day sarcophagus). All this doesn't come cheap--$56,000 plus transport to and from the Salt Lake City facility--but Pharoah wannabees aren't exactly in a position to quibble. Info: 801-355-0137.
9. Scrap your past. There is an endless variety of books, decals, stencils, and lettering sets that allow you to transform the paper trail of a lifetime into a work of art...
10. Line the wine cellar. If you're the official family toastmaster, sock away some bottles that bear your name. The Wineman in Naples,Florida, sells custom labels for $55 each (minimum order of 12 labels). Info: 941-348-7603...
11. Support a scholar. You don't have to be a millionaire to help a deserving youngster fund his or her education. Plenty of colleges and universities award scholarships in amounts as modest as $500 per year. Contact the development office at your alma mater or local community for more information.
12. Chill out. For some people, leaving a legacy means never going away. The Cryonics Institute, located in Clinton Township, Michigan, will freeze your body for a price, $28,000. There are no guarantees of course, but many who do this hope to be thawed and "reawakened" when technology permits. Info: 586-791-5961.
13. Give a bit of yourself. Each day, 15 people die because the organs they need aren't available. If you don't already have a donor card, get one--the Coalition on Donation has instructions online or call 800-355-7427. Or think bigger: Donate your whole darn body. Call a medical school in your area or contact The Living Bank at 800-825-2971.
14. Look over your shoulder. Check out Family Tree Maker, a Windows software set that helps you research your roots and preserve stories, photos, sound, and video. Cost ranges from $29.99 to $99.99; call 800-474-8696.
15. Leave a piece of paradise. Buy a private island. It costs less than you think. Farhad Vladi, an island broker (yes, there is such a specialty), is offering a one-acre island on a Swedish lake for about $80,000, and a two-acre Nova Scotia island for $19,000.
