THE CAR

Automotive Mourning

There are drive-in movies, restaurants, laundries, banks and even churches--so why not a drive-in funeral home? Atlanta Mortician Hirschel Thornton, 49, will open one this week. The world's first monument to automotive mourning consists of five picture-windowed viewing rooms frontin on a curved, gravel driveway. So that drive-in mourners will not have to peer through rain-streaked windows, Thornton has covered the driveway with a roof. Another thoughtful touch: the windows reach almost to the ground, enabling passengers in even the lowest-slung foreign sports cars to get a good look without having to crane their necks unduly.

What they will see through the glass is a draped and carpeted room, 6 ft. by 12 ft., bathed in soft fluorescent light, with an open casket tilted toward the window for easier viewing. To prevent any possible confusion about which are the remains to be seen, each window has a drop-in name plaque. "This is the glass age," says Thornton, explaining the convenience of the arrangement for both his customers and himself. "Families often come by in the wee hours of the morning, and you have to get up for them," he adds a bit defensively, "and this will also make it easier for elderly people, who can just sit in the car. There's no need to dress up this way, either." Nor need friends of the family worry that they will receive no credit for paying their last respects by car: outside each picture window will be a box for cards and a condolence register.

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