The Casket That Keeps On Giving “Come and see this,” Mario said shortly after we arrived at his in-laws’ house in El Higueral, Nicaragua. He led us toward the back door, through which we could see several pigs and a handful of chickens poking around in the mud. Then he pointed at a large object looming in the darkness behind the door: a beautifully decorated wooden casket. It turns out that about 15 years ago, a doctor told Ofelia, the elderly mother of our former host mom Esterlina, that she was about to die and that she should start putting things in order. The first thing she and her husband did was purchase a casket, which they would store behind the door until it was needed. A neighbor passed away before Ofelia could use it, however, and they used her casket and replaced it with another. And so it went for 15 years; someone in the town would die and use the casket and that family would replace it. Ofelia’s still alive and getting around very well in her old age, but the casket’...