Cousin Algernon & Deathcare Heroes | 4M #251
Welcome to the two-hundred-and-fifty-first edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #251, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!
Disney did something …
From the “why is this even news” category, we have this headline from WDW News Today (the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in Disney parks news”): “Haunted Mansion Gravestones Rearranged as Construction Walls Come Down at Magic Kingdom.” Yes, I hate to be the bearer of this devastating news, but apparently, Disney had the gall to move around the fake headstones that park-goers see while waiting in line at the Haunted Mansion ride. The “most noticeable” changes? Yes, the headstones for Uncle Theodore, Cousin Algernon, and “Our Dreamy Dorothea” have been repositioned, and the one for “a man named Martin” can no longer be seen from certain angles. I’m sorry.
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Worthy of your TBR list
Harper’s Magazine just published “A Dying Art: The last of the morticians” — a beautiful article written by John Semley about restorative art. Semley attended the NFDA Convention in Chicago last October. In the article he covers the inaugural Restorative Art Technical Showcase and offers a wonderfully thorough history of the practice. Non-subscribers of Harper’s can read three articles each month for free, and this one’s well worth the click.
More proof that you guys are heroes
Last week, the Times of India shared the incredible story of Chen Cuiju, who was found unconscious on the streets of Southern China with no identification and eventually pronounced dead in 1995. Miraculously, a sharp-eyed funeral worker who was preparing Cuiju for cremation noticed a slight movement in her feet and called authorities. After months of recovery and a touching reunion with her family, Cuiju was invited by an art teacher to study painting. She took the teacher up on the offer and developed her skills through competitions, earning more and more awards. Today, Cuiju is renowned for her brilliant talent for traditional Chinese painting. In 2006 she visited and thanked the heroic funeral worker who saved her from cremation as well as the hospital staff who cared for her. Her story has even inspired a Cantonese opera.
A worthy project
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced last week that nearly $2.2 million in grants has been awarded to eight groups through the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program. These groups, which are all student-driven and educator-led, were selected after a highly competitive application process that detailed their plans to “preserve the legacies of veterans interred in national and VA-funded cemeteries.” The winning programs range from national to state-based projects across various military branches and conflicts, but they all have the goal to commemorate veterans and promote and protect the cemeteries where they rest.
You can probably relate …
