THEY PUT THE "FUN" IN FUNERALS! If you live long enough, there's a good chance you'll have something to do with Death. You might even have to select a casket or urn for a loved one.

If that turns out to be the case, you could find yourself choosing among pricey caskets in a showroom at the precise time that you shouldn't be making any decisions at all. If you're Net-savvy, you could even find yourself surfing sadly to FuneralDepot.com. A visit to this website could be a grave affair, but some of the Personalized Theme Caskets should appeal to mourners with a morbid sense of humor.

Personalized Theme Caskets sport the kind of glossy artwork typically found on vans, pickup trucks, and motorcycles. So perhaps it's no surprise that one of them features a car-racing motif. "The checkered flag, the trophy and the roar of the crowd all serve to insure[sic] that every auto-racing fan will enjoy the high performance look of this Art Casket®," explains the copy for item 1046 ("the race is over").

Probably the only intentionally comical coffin of the lot is item1030 ("return to sender"), which transforms a casket into a special delivery package to The Great Beyond. The website confidently claims that "This 'Express Delivery' parcel is well suited to become a fitting epilogue for one who has demonstrated the virtues of living life with a sense of humor," but I'd suggest that it's crucial to make sure that the survivors will appreciate the message. After all, you wouldn't want any mourners going postal.

Some of the caskets seem to have very specific uses. Item 1028 ("remember") portrays the World Trade Center. (For some reason—or perhaps no reason at all—it's offered under the "lifestyles" category.) In contrast, other caskets might have uses not anticipated by the salespeople. For example, item 1034 ("the lighthouse") supposedly beckons to "those who have poignant recollections of crashing waves, rose tinted skies, and the deep blue sea," but as far as I'm concerned it'd be perfect for admirers of Virginia Woolf.

If coming up with a car-racing casket was a canny decision with regard to the sport's large fan base and dependable mortality rate, then the numerous golf-related caskets and urns reflect a similar stroke of marketing genius. For golfers heading for the ultimate hole-in-one, there are items 1017 ("fairway to heaven") and 1064 ("the last hole") as well as a cremation urn styled as a golf bag.

And remember: FuneralDepot.com, "Where Overpaying Is Not Dignified," offers guaranteed Free Next Day Casket Delivery!