Stephen Kemp rummaged through a supply closet for a box of staples, being careful not to jostle the blue paper bags of cremated remains on the floor.
It’s not a great spot for ashes, but he ran out of space long ago. In the grand scheme of things, the closet is as good a resting place as any.
Kemp, the owner of Haley Funeral Directors, is used to a certain rhythm of life and death.
Good times mean fancy funerals — open bars with top-drawer liquor, horse-drawn carriages, jazz bands for all-night jam sessions. Bad times mean unclaimed remains — funeral fees often being a low priority for the living.
Greetings.
For those of you that find the topic interesting, the documentary film [url=”http://www.acertainkindofdeath.com/”]A Certain Kind of Death[/url] might be enlightening. It deals with those — usually people on the margins, one way or another — who die with no identifiable next-of-kin in Los Angeles County, and how they are dealt with by the Coroner’s office. It’s not a new phenomenon, though I suppose there is probably more of it lately.
The DVD is out of print, but available used through the usual channels, and via Netflix.
regards,
JPB
A priest friend of mine in Panama City (neither one of us lives there now, BTW) used to be on the rotation for the local “Potter’s Field”. I never accompanied him on the days he officiated at the funerals, but I understand it was a needed ministry.