It was getting close to Halloween, a Holiday that all of us working at the funeral home tried to keep low key for obvious reasons. We tried to maintain the dignity of the profession as best we could.
However, one incident seems to stand out. One of the young apprentices had obtained a full head mask of a rough looking old man. As was the custom, after visitation was over for the evening, and the place cleaned and locked up, someone would go for a bag of hamburgers for all of us.
The young fellow told us he was going to hide in the bushes by the front door and when the runner for the hamburgers got back he was going to jump out at him. So out he went to hide by the front door!
Unknown to us, was that an elderly couple had gotten back into town late after a trip, and wanted to pay their respects to the deceased, hoping someone would let them in, so they could do this before going home.
Well, the kid with the mask only heard footsteps and jumped out of the bushes at them thinking it was the burger runner!
Later he told us, the old man grabbed his chest and fell to his knees, and his wife started screaming for all she was worth. We heard the commotion and let them in. They were soon back to normal telling us what had happened. We had a hard time keeping a straight face,. explaing that it must have been some Halloween trickster.
I think it scared the kid with the mask, more than it did the old couple! He thought he had given the old man a heart attack!
Later that evening we ate our very cold hamburgers, talked about what could have happened, all in the presence of a very young, scared, and quiet apprentice! Once the "shame on you" talk was finished, we all couldn't hold it any longer and laughed like Hell!
The legacy of that Halloween at the home lived on for years! Undertakers being dull and boring....if you only knew!!!!
However, one incident seems to stand out. One of the young apprentices had obtained a full head mask of a rough looking old man. As was the custom, after visitation was over for the evening, and the place cleaned and locked up, someone would go for a bag of hamburgers for all of us.
The young fellow told us he was going to hide in the bushes by the front door and when the runner for the hamburgers got back he was going to jump out at him. So out he went to hide by the front door!
Unknown to us, was that an elderly couple had gotten back into town late after a trip, and wanted to pay their respects to the deceased, hoping someone would let them in, so they could do this before going home.
Well, the kid with the mask only heard footsteps and jumped out of the bushes at them thinking it was the burger runner!
Later he told us, the old man grabbed his chest and fell to his knees, and his wife started screaming for all she was worth. We heard the commotion and let them in. They were soon back to normal telling us what had happened. We had a hard time keeping a straight face,. explaing that it must have been some Halloween trickster.
I think it scared the kid with the mask, more than it did the old couple! He thought he had given the old man a heart attack!
Later that evening we ate our very cold hamburgers, talked about what could have happened, all in the presence of a very young, scared, and quiet apprentice! Once the "shame on you" talk was finished, we all couldn't hold it any longer and laughed like Hell!
The legacy of that Halloween at the home lived on for years! Undertakers being dull and boring....if you only knew!!!!
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