Thanks.....

<oberon@auto^&#!#!.com>

Interesting web site. There are a large number of occurances of "your" when "you're" is intended. Thanks for the suggestions on what to do when a telemarketer calls.

<shine&*?@#?>@uniserve.com>

Hola, I'm a trash pilot from Canada, just to fill you in we don't roll in the stuff, we just pack it on and go...*grin*....that keeps the smell behind us, much to the dismay of the people behind us. I'd rather be in my truck, or as most drivers spell it TRUK than be in a house with all that stuff in it.

<sl$#@!?!#@bu.edu>

I read your description of why being a mortician sucks. I have a friend who owns two funeral homes, and my fiancée used to be a mortician as well. I will admit that the hours are bad--you are usually on call 24 hours a day--but in the right place, the pay more than makes up for it. Sometimes a single day's work would bring in more than enough money tomake up for an entire month's pay in a "normal" job. (Sometimes it pays to have a job that no one else wants to do.) Also, sick as it sounds, some people enjoy the job. For instance, my friend and fiancée can tell you stories of bodies so disgusting, you cant imagine how anyone could even bear to look at it, let alone deal with it. They find it interesting. Sounds gross, I know, but they are interested in the way the body works, alive or dead. Some people are just not grossed out easily. They also like to have stories to tell people about how awful it was/is. Depending on the pay, mortician can be a pretty cushy position, as long as you can deal with a little gore. I guess you just have to have the right personality for the job. If you do, not only does the job not suck, but it can be very interesting and enjoyable. Go figure.

<chainsaw@BBLAiserve.com>

I am a secretary for a Psychiatrist, 4 Psychologists, 1 Social Worker, & 1 RN in a TX Maximum Security Prison. The days are hard for all of us. A little humor in our area would be appreciated.

I get a lot of calls from these people. I never answer them, but I’ve begun to feel sorry for them. (I deal with such matters only in writing—and I’ve told them so—but they still keep calling.) What a dismal job it must be—just like telemarketing except you get to call the same people over and over and leave the same message and they never call back.

Some get mad. Some try to trick you into answering. They’ll say, "Hey Jim! This is Phil!" It must be the only entertainment they get, inventing strategies like that. They give you an 800 number and say they’ll be there until midnight or some God-awful time. Some talk very slowly, as if maybe you haven’t understood the previous 50 messages they left. Some are very offended that you haven’t called them back, like you’re the one being rude. "Please do me the courtesy of returning this call," they’ll say in an offended tone. One woman left 114 messages, by her own count, before giving up (or quitting the job, I hope).

Had a friend who did this for 2 years. When springtime rolls around, everyone scoops up the dog shit from their lawn and bags it. The bag gets to sit around in the sunshine for a week until the yard is finally cleared of dog-debris. Needless to say, one more day on the curb creates an almost liquid substance in the bag. If the plastic bag gets jammed between the drop-bin (on the back of the truck) and the hammer (that scoops and pushes the garbage into the main storage cube on the back of the truck) it’ll create a bvalloon of pressure that will burst the bag and spray contents over anything in it’s path.

Not like the job doesn’t already sound sucky...just thought you might want to add this tid-bit of info to your site :)

Hans Hunziker

Massie547@aol.com

I drive a school bus, although it has it’s moments, it’s a lot of fun.  Not for every one. JOIN THE PARTY PAL

LEM

James@planetoutdoors.com