Greetings Everybody!
Last week's column, Ilya Nastasi: Anger Management Guru - or Spin Doctor For the New Conservative, really raised some eyebrows, so I have decided to calm things down somewhat by talking about a show I have really enjoyed called The Worst Jobs in History. The show stars Tony Robinson - who was that Baldric guy on Black Adder. I should also warn you that there is an American version of this show - but it is not as good.
The thing that impressed my the most about this show was that Baldric, I mean Tony really puts his heart and soul into each show. He really does some gross stuff - but what touched me most was one show where he had to be lowered over a cliff face to gather some eggs from some wild birds - I think they were pterodactyls or something. Up until this point Tony had done everything asked of him - but this time, as Tony was being lowered over the cliff - he broke down crying and told the crew he couldn't do it because he was too afraid.
You could tell the crew both felt bad for Tony, but I think that their admiration for Tony grew 200% that day (kind of like the time the Grinch found the true meaning of Christmas and his heart grew so big that it broke the magnifying glass). I was pretty choked up too.
One time, I used to work at a cemetery. That can be a pretty gross job - especially when you have to dig someone up. Sometimes it could be sad too. I remember one time when a young teen prostitute died and only one person (besides me) showed up for the funeral (actually there was no funeral). An unmarked, government van showed up and dropped the casket off and then took off. So it was just me, the casket and this young girl of about 17-18. She looked like she needed to talk and so I asked her if she was close to this person. She told me she was and proceeded to tell me about her friend. Up until 5 minutes ago she was just another welfare drop-off to me - but now I was learning who this person was. She spoke for abut 15 minutes or so, and then thanked me for listening and left. Then I lowered the casket into the ground and buried her, and then I too, left. But I think I left a different person from the person I had been when I had arrived really only minutes before. I never looked at Welfare or homeless funerals the same way after that. Many times after that occasion, I would tend to a casket by myself - no one else came to say good-bye. So I would tell them goodbye and wish them well on their new journey.
Sometimes after you have had some years to reflect, things you thought were dirty, lonely, jobs turned out to be actually quite deep philosophically . . . I still wonder what happened to that girl I spoke to - I hope she's doing well and is happy . . . Sometimes I wonder if I was actually talking to the girl's spirit - weird huh?
Next week's blog should be a great one: Home Kits For Neutering Your Wildebeest - Do They Work As Good As They Say They Do?
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