Did a Funeral Intern REALLY Do This? | FFFW 243

It’s time for us to start saying goodbye to July. That’s right- this is the final Friday of the month. To quote my dad, “Time sure is flying.” Then he’ll normally say something like “it’s basically winter already. Might as well kiss the good weather goodbye.” And man as a kid that was a bummer- as an adult I kind of get it.

BUT- at the FFFW we are all about pushing the positive vibes and celebrating every week. So, August might be the end of summer but it’s also a lot of other things.

Here are just a few facts to get you excited about August:

It’s the most common birth month in the U.S.—so get ready to sing “Happy Birthday” a lot.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks in mid-August, with up to 100 shooting stars visible per hour.
The first U.S. census was completed in August 1790, recording just under 4 million people.
The first MTV broadcast happened on August 1, 1981, kicking off with “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
On August 5, 1914, the world’s first electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio—so you can thank August every time you hit a red light.

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New Funeral Intern Keeps Saying “Let’s Get This Party Started” Before Services

“I think he’s trying to bring energy, but there’s a time and place,” says staff.

Bright-eyed funeral intern Kyle Hastings has been making waves during his first week at Remembrance Ridge Funeral Chapel—mostly by repeatedly starting each service with the phrase, “Let’s get this party started!”

“He means well,” said funeral director Paula Knox. “But this isn’t a wedding DJ booth. This is Cheryl’s memorial.”

Kyle’s routine reportedly includes slapping the podium, firing finger guns at the bereaved, and once yelling “Who’s ready to celebrate a life?!” while cuing the wrong slideshow. That particular incident resulted in a photo montage from a completely different family playing to the tune of “Uptown Funk.”

Staff say he’s been sat down multiple times for coaching, but Kyle insists he’s “bringing a fresh energy to the industry.”
“He told me he was trying to give ‘opening act vibes,’” said embalmer Greg Tate. “I told him this isn’t Coachella.”

As of Thursday, Kyle has agreed to tone it down, scaling back his catchphrase to a low whisper and only using the podium for what he calls “light choreography.”

Grief may be universal, but Kyle is… very specific.

Trivia

Choose the correct answer and you’ll see a puppy. Get it wrong and you’ll see someone hurting themselves.

Roughly how many gallons of embalming fluid are used in the United States each year?

A. 50,000
B. 250,000
C. 800,000
D. 1.6 million