Angelo's Ashes or To Live and Die in L.A.

ANGELO’S ASHES -OR- TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. tells the story of how I handled the end of life arrangements for my friend Angelo. This booklet consists of a series of Facebook posts that I made in the months following Angelo’s death. I learned of his death from his landlord who had my phone number because I was Angelo’s emergency contact. Angelo did not leave a will and had no next of kin. I live in Chicago and Angelo died in Los Angeles. The bureaucracy of dealing with his death was intense and social media provided a place to vent as well as collect advice from friends. I did not want Angelo to receive an anonymous burial in a mass grave so I had to file an Ex Parte Petition to claim his body, have him cremated, and obtain a death certificate.I knew Angelo for roughly 25 years. He collaborated with the group I’m part of, Temporary Services, on the project and book Prisoners’ Inventions. I was his closest and primary friend. For most of the time I knew Angelo, he was incarcerated. Two y