Many years ago, John had a fellow ardent sailor friend pass away. He felt that it was befitting to give such a die hard sailor a proper Viking Funeral. Together with the partner of the deceased, we organized our first Viking funeral. It was a very rewarding and emotionally charged event that sticks in the memory to this day. The idea sat dormant for a long time.

Over the years, John attended several ash dispersal events that included burial plots. As he wandered the graveyards he noticed so many graves from years gone by that were overgrown with weeds and seldom if ever were attended. This did not sit well with him. This fell into the "not the way to do it" territory.

Other ash dispersal events that he attended were situations where the ashes were cast to the wind. That felt a lot better, except for the macabre part of the slightest puff of wind enveloping the attendees in a cloud of ash. This also fell into the "not the way to do it" territory.

Later he attended a "natural burial". At this particular burial, attendees were expected to shovel dirt, gravel and rocks into the grave of a body wrapped only in a cotton shroud. This fell into the barbaric territory for him and he designated it also as "not the way to do it".