An elderly (okay, older than dirt) gentleman passed away this evening. His family, being jewish, are paying premium to do a rush job so he can be buried tomorrow morning... and they want a hell of a funeral before that happens. See, catholics leave their dead laying around, jews want them planted immediately. Hell, it seems like they can't even flatline before arrangements are being made.
I don't understand the philosophy difference. I admit to not paying attention in my cultural studies classes. I was in school for the sole purpose of learning to cut bodies up and create deranged art out of them. It didn't matter to me why people wanted autopsies or funerals. I didn't care what religions needed what kind of service. I never wanted to work with the living. Alas, being licensed as a funeral director occasionally puts you in the same room at people who want to breathe your air, and I just don't enjoy the morgue as much as the mortuary.
Before embalming was a common practice, there was a reason to rush a funeral. Bodies have a way of becoming unsightly, unhygienic, and rather potent in a short period of time. But the ritual seems antiquated. I guess it doesn't matter to me as long as I have a body to work on.
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