Erica Meiland is very pissed that she had to pay 150 euros for the funeral bouquet of her deceased mother Jenny. “And then it just went into the oven!”
Erica Meiland’s mother passed away a week ago at the age of 93. A lot had to be arranged and she sent Martien off for a funeral bouquet. “I could kill you”, he shouts in their new positive podcast† “I say, ‘Well, for how much money?’ Then you just say to me: ’50 euros.’”
50 euros
Erica thinks 50 euros is well paid for a funeral bouquet. “Well, I think that’s a lot of money, 50 euros. You can make a nice bouquet out of that, right?”
Apparently not, says Martien. “Well, I was just stuck. I go to that woman over there in the store and say, ‘So and so, my mother-in-law.’”
The florist: “Oh, girl, dude, Jesus, my condolences. Well, gosh, it’s something.”
Martien: “Yes, girl, 93, God gives and God takes. Well, I need a piece for the coffin.”
The florist: “Well, that’s good. For how much money?”
Martien: “Well, girl. 50 euros.”
The florist: “Martien, 50 euros! Then you have such a small bouquet!”
‘Why?!’
Erica doesn’t understand. “Yes, but listen. Tell me: if I want a bouquet of flowers for 50 euros, I have a very large bouquet. A very large bouquet. Then why should it cost a lot of money for someone who is dead?”
Martien: “Because it has to be flat, it has to be placed in the oasis.”
Erica: “Yes, that costs nothing, oasis.”
Martien: “So I say to that woman: ‘Well, girl, such a small piece on such a very large box, it falls away completely. And we are the closest family, the first family.’ Well, I say, ‘How much have I lost?’”
The florist: “Most people buy a piece between 100 and 150 euros.”
Martien: “Back then I only paid 150 euros. I say that to you and you are just mad at me.”
Erica angry
Yes, Erica agrees. “I can already hear my mother say: ‘That’s fine, 50 euros. That is beautiful.’ It’s enough and I really think you’ll be ripped off. You get dropped off at weddings and funerals and things like that. I really think so. What’s so bad about a piece of oasis and then poking those flowers in it? There was no ribbon or nothing.”
Martien: “No, but listen: how do you think it turned out in the end?”
Erica: Well, I didn’t even look closely, you know? And then it went into the oven. We actually wanted to take it with us.”
Shame
Quite a shame, Martien also thinks. “Yeah, it all happened so fast.”
Erica: “Yeah, you’re so busy with other things.”
Martien: “Yes, I also wanted to take it with me. It was purple.”
Erica: “Yes, isn’t it eternal sin?”