The Violent Munkee

Manager of a Jazz club sounds very cool. The mortuary thing is odd, but I was with my Grandmother when she died, and I remember the man who removed her body as a kind, quiet and helpful soul, which I can see you as too.

Great to get to know you better.
 

Dawn, i just got that "old people" comment you made...nice.

The Jazz club is where I met Sara and is still cranking. Actually, now that i think of it, it's also where i really met Chance. Wow.

The mortuary gig was good. Some very sad removals with the family all around crying...and some even sadder, lonely removals with nobody there. I did it with my father while i was in high school for my uncle's mortuary. We would get called at all hours of the night to go and pick up.

The first removal i did was very intense. We picked up an elderly gentlemen in a very ideal neighborhood (big old trees, homes built in the early 1900's), when we walked through the door his wife showed us to him. Actually, she didn't, she just motioned and said, "he's in the other room." So we walked in and I saw before me an elderly gentlemen lying on the couch, snuggled up in a blanket, slippers on the floor, with the TV on. He was so freshly departed that he appeared to be simply resting. More family members had arrived as we were setting up the gurney and they were now standing around us. We lifted him carefully and his weight in my attempt to be very smooth pulled me in close to his face as we set him down. Setting him down "gently" on the gurney had pushed the last breath out of his lungs and into my young face. For a second I wondered if he was actually sleeping.

Anyway, i could go on with all that happened during that first removal, it was truly intimate and engaging.
 

Oh Aaron, that is so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes.

I so want to go in my own home surrounded by those I love. It was an honor to be given the blessing of holding my grandmother's hand when she passed.