The Ambassadors of Jefferson State Community College (of Birmingham, Alabama) and the Xi chapter of Sigma Phi Sigma (a gender-neutral fraternity of mortuary science students) have teamed up to support babies through the March of Dimes.

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help!!!

The goal (for 20 students) is impressive, total of $5,000.  To some that might seem small -- but to us, it is a lot.  I really want your support, which you can give by donating online through PayPal (click on the widget or copy/paste the direct link) and by rec'ing this post.

Please support my walk! Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!




www.marchforbabies.org/jscc_fse

While most of you are probably fairly young and may have only experienced death from afar, I'm here to burst your bubble:  You will wake up one morning and death will be knocking on your front door.  Your mom, your sister, your best friend, your husband/wife, your child. 

Something I hear fairly often, which makes me mad and breaks my heart, is "Funeral directors say they're here to help you -- but they're not.  All they care about is the money. Funerals are so damn expensive. It's all about the money."

Well there's some truth to that statement, but there's a lot of BS in it too.

Funeral directors SHOULD be there to help you.  Are there some who don't care?  Yes.  Do most care?  Yes.

Funerals ARE expensive, and YES this is a for profit business. 
Yeah, yeah, go ahead and gasp in disgust.  I'll explain.

Funerals are expensive...if you pick out expensive things.  And guess what?  Most of us want to pick out expensive things -- if for no other reason than they're prettier.  Is a 32 oz solid copper casket prettier than an 18 gauge steel?  I guess that depends on your definition of pretty.
A 32 oz solid copper will cost you about $8,000.  A little more, or a little less, depending on the interior style and if you have to have an oversize. 


An 18 gauge steel casket is a more affordable option.  To some people, thickness (gauge) matters, to some it doesn't.  Funeral homes should have a progression chart that shows that with each increase in thickness, the length of time the casket should withstand the elements.  An 18gauge steel casket would generally retail about $3,500.  A little more or a little less, depending on oversize, personalization and interior style.


Many cemeteries require an "outer burial container" -- such as a grave liner or vault.  Some people will tell you that it's unnecessary and pointless, and if you believe that, then you've believed a lie.  Will a vault provide sealing qualities?  Yes.  Will it keep everything out?  No -- but it'll help.  It will also help protect the casket, and therefore your loved one, from being crushed by the earth's load.  This is why many cemeteries require an outer burial container of some kind -- to keep the earth from sinking and crushing the deceased. 

A basic vault is roughly $1,000.  Typically they are concrete boxes, engraved with the deceased's name and date of death on the lid, which are placed into the ground around the casket to protect it.  It offers a lot of peace of mind for the family as well as complies with the cemetery requirements.

As for general fees and services, those can be expensive too -- but that's based on what you select.  If you select for the body to be embalmed, then have a 4 day long visitation, a funeral service in the chapel, then cremate the body and buy 2 urns... you're talking EXPENSIVE. Why?  Each day that you're in the parlor with your family for visitation is a day that you're paying to use the facilities.  We don't leave the lights on in the parlor all day, every day.  We don't heat/cool those areas to the same degree, and we don't have the TV or music on if no one is in there.  So it's more expensive for the funeral home, as far as overhead costs, for each day you have visitation.  In my funeral home, we have at least 2 directors for every funeral service.  Those people don't work for free -- though they don't get paid as much as you probably think.    Funeral homes also provide the hearse, lead car, flower van, limousine, and arrange police escorts (if applicable). 

It has been estimated that it takes 99 work hours to have a funeral.  That means from the moment we receive a call, to the moment that the grave is closed, it takes about 99 hours of work on the funeral director's part.  Of course, several people are working simultaneously, but you will hopefully see how important that is.  Say the funeral directors in question make $12.00 an hour and it takes 99 hours to put on a funeral... That alone is  $1,200.  Add in overhead costs, vehicle and gasoline requirements, merchandise, chemicals needed to embalm... Yeah, it adds up.

The funeral industry is for profit.  Why?  It has to be.  If we didn't make any money at all, just sold to you the casket at the lowest price, didn't charge for use of facilities, didn't charge for embalming or for the vehicles or for the use of the directors, then the funeral home would close.  It wouldn't be able to pay bills and stay open.  I hope you're not disgusted by the thought of funerals being for-profit.  Doctors who remove tumors from cancer patients help people, too, but no one is appalled at the thought of that doctor making a profit.

Now, I have one of the best bosses in the entire world.  He is willing to help ANYONE -- even if it means he comes out on the short end.  I've seen him donate caskets or slash prices in half for families who are can't afford to buy lunch, let alone a casket.  Is everyone like that? No.  But there are some really great people out there. 

Funerals are expensive, and they are for profit, but they're a necessity.  If you find a funeral home that gives good service, has polite, courteous staff and competitive pricing, then you should become a repeat customer -- it will only benefit you.

I feel like I have sort of just disappeared from Xanga. 

Well, I kinda have.

Working 35 hours a week on top of taking 16 credit hours is not boding well for my blogging habits.  That is to say, I'm not blogging at all.

Interesting things going on at the funeral home:

We had a woman come in who had died of cancer.  She was very small -- both short and frail -- and after completing the embalming process, my licensee (the guy who is training me) and I were able to move her by ourselves.  For most cases we have, we use a hydraulic lift to aid in the transfer of dead human remains, both for the safety and comfort of the embalmers and of the deceased.  With this lady, though, she had been so sick, and was so thin, that we were able to move her by ourselves quite easily.  When her family came in to make arrangements, they brought in not only her clothes...but also her cigarettes. 
"Momma never went nowheres without these.  I want y'alll to put 'em in her casket, under the piller or somethin'." 
Now as the family walked out to go to their cars, all of them lit up another one.  I do not smoke, and if people want to smoke -- that's fine with me -- but I wonder if they realize the potential cancer hazard they're putting not only on themselves, but also their loved ones, pets and children alike.  (Not to mention the financial strain of buying 3 or 4 packs of cigarettes a day)
I couldn't help but think in my head "NEXT!"
I know that's terrible.
Sorry.

We had a HUGE funeral the other day.  Our funeral packages start at about $4500 and go up from there, depending on the services and merchandise chosen by the family.  If they choose a direct burial or cremation, then it's cheaper than a fancy casket, 3 or 4 days of visitation, service in the chapel, graveside service, etc.  This funeral...huge.  It was costing the family about $10,000 -- but the deceased was obviously well known and greatly loved.  If you have ever been to a funeral, you've probably seen a flower stand:

These bad boys start at about $120 and go up from there.  The one shown above retails about $175.  This huge funeral I'm talking about?  The man's family received FIFTY-TWO stands of flowers and over 200 potted plants, flowers, vases, and various other sympathy items (such as framed poems, paintings, bird houses, blankets, and these odd little church-shaped things that plug into the wall and light shines out the windows).  I'm talking huge.
It was obvious this man was dear to everyone's heart -- but it occurred to me...
If all the money that was spent on flowers had been donated, that charity would've come out like a KING.

My boyfriend's dad has been very ill lately. He went to India on a mission trip and didn't take the malaria pills as recommended, and consequently got a strain of malaria that is very hard to treat.  He's been laid up in a hospital bed for 4 days, but they're hoping he'll go home tomorrow.
I have a really hard time feeling sorry for him, possibly because I'm a mean person, because he didn't do what the doctor had told him to do.  I just have a hard time sympathizing with people who get lung cancer and smoked 5 packs a day, or people who don't take preventive measures and get ill -- it just seems to me that they did it to themselves.  I feel worse for their families who have to foot the bill of the hospital and deal with the ill, dying, or cranky person.

Midterms are in nine days.
But then..
SPRING BREAK!!!

Most teenagers I know are planning beach trips over spring break week -- I was invited on several. 
No thanks, I have plans.

I'm going to work on that Sunday before Spring Break, then drive to Montgomery for date night with my precious uncle.  We'll go out to eat, watch a scary movie, talk til I can't keep my eyes open, then I'll go to sleep.  I love my uncle dearly -- he's the Captain of the Alabama State Troopers, but is just so real.  He isn't full of himself even though he's in a high position, which I love about him.  Anyway, after date night with him in Montgomery, I'm going to drive to Eufaula (population: 8,900) and spend the week with my grandparents in their little sleepy town.  I have two huge projects due in school one week apart and it will be great to just take the time to wrap up those projects and detox from the stress of being at work and school 24/7. 
Yay!


So how are you doing?