And So Begins My New Life

Join me as I embark on a new life and new career in Funeral Services.

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Location: Southeast, United States

I'm a Funeral Services graduate embarking on a new career. I graduated high school in 1981, served honorably in the United States Navy from 1982-1986, been married since 1986, and have one son. I've relocated to a new state and have begun working in my chosen profession of Funeral Services, and I've never been happier.

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Friday, July 28, 2006

Leading the Procession

I was told today that sometime in the next few months, I will begin driving the hearse in procession to the National Cemetery. At first, I was just a bit apprehensive, but then I realized, like everything I've done since I got this job, it will probably turn out just fine. Whenever they hand me a new assignment, I always get myself all worked up, worrying if I'll be able to handle it, and I usually do handle it, and it almost always works out fine. So I'm taking the approach this time that this is something I can do, and I'm ready for it.

Just to clarify, driving a hearse while leading a procession can be a bit of a challenge, because you have to drive in such a way that you don't lose the cars behind you, or you don't get the procession halfway through a green light only to have it turn red on you and then some timid driver two cars back who should keep on going ends up stopping. If that does happen, I'm supposed to slow down enough to give the rest of the procession a chance to catch up once the light turns green again. If the procession is really long, say about a dozen cars or so, you're supposed to slow down significantly through green lights so people can see the hearse, then lead the procession on through slowly so that even if the light turns, the other traffic will be forced to stay put until the procession is through. In my state, funeral processions legally have the right-of-way.

The nice part about this is the fact that by the time I'm supposed to start doing this, we will (most likely) have a new hearse (price tag: about $60-$65k) and I will be driving the 1996 model, which has a tape deck. If I don't have any passengers, that means I can take a favorite tape or two along and enjoy the music while I make the drive. I hate driving with the radio on, because, with very few exceptions, today's music stinks, and I can never find a station that plays the older tunes I like. I either drive with no music, or I bring my own whenever possible. When I was driving back and forth to school (90 minutes each way) I had my CD player and all my music with me and would enjoy the music and the drive. It was actually a very relaxing 90 minutes when I would make those drives.

6 Comments:

Blogger Carol said...

Hi Granimore,
Can I interest you in joining the FFMB band? See my Friendly Friday post for more info.
Keep on blogging.

1:05 AM  
Blogger J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I'm a late day for band practise, but I'm glad I stopped by. Nice blog. :)

6:37 PM  
Blogger Jennifer said...

Hey! Carol sent me! :) I'm glad I came...I've always had a morbid interest in funeral parlors, death, etc. I started at the beginning and worked my way backwards through your posts...great reading! (Have you ever read Mary Roach's Stiff?)
It sounds to me like you're one that came late in life to the profession of your dreams. That's what I'm aspiring to do...to go back to school and get my degree as a Certified Nurse-Midwife. I think it's a job that I would love and one where I could help people and share in their joy. I want to birth 'em....and you want to console them and give them strength. I applaud you for following a dream!
I'll be back...I've added you to my Bloglines...

8:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi. I`m a straggler from band camp (FFMB). It`s great that you have a career that you love. Alot of people don`t. Interesting blog.

10:24 PM  
Blogger Granimore said...

Jennifer, yes I came to my chosen profession late in life, but I'm so glad I've finally arrived.
I have not read Mary Roach's book. I hope you follow through with your plans. Nothing on this earth has been more satisifying to me than to reach this point in my life.

11:22 PM  
Blogger DPTH International said...

Fascinating blog Granimore, Funeral careers I find have a stigma attached to them, but I think that's due to ignorance. Hopefully your blog can create a better understanding of this very important industry. And I agree, that's a lot of pressure on ya being the procession leader. Good luck!

DPTH

12:40 PM  

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