My Body Is a Temple, Abandoned by the Gods. All things fall apart. Order tends toward chaos. The entire universe gets colder and colder by the picosecond. And our bodies, strong and capable for a shining moment, eventually let us down. Today we’re talking about how cadaver parts and stubbornness keep us on the right side of the dirt.
Music pick of the week:
Robot – Mrs. Piss – Self-Surgery
Stevil – Rocket from the Crypt – All Systems Go
Podcast (revolting): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:59 — 100.2MB)
A tiny bit of perspective regarding this week’s WYR. I have worked both in marketing as a character in a suit and with the dead and/or dying some of whom were criminals. In the former my job was to go to grocery stores/malls dressed as Mr Kool-aid where I’d dance around, say catch phrases and generally be as goofy as I could whilst my assistant would pass out coupons and beach balls (summer job). The suit did in fact have a built in battery-powered fan system that not only kept the wearer from overheating, but also maintain the shape of the costume. I had to do two ninety minute shows four days a week. This is not exactly like a Disney character, but close.
I also was a burn tech in an ICU step-down unit at a regional level 1 trauma center. This job dealt with most patients at their worst (not bad enough to be in ICU, but not able to be independent or ambulatory with minimal care either). Many patients would not make it and those that did were generally still in bad shape and could be extraordinarily unpleasant. I learned quickly how to disconnect leaving work at work and I believe as an executioner you’d have to do this as well. Again, not exactly like an executioner, but there are similar feelings you have to manage. As for an executioners “hours” so to speak, in the state with the highest number of executions over the last forty-seven years (Texas) the average is about twelve per year The next highest (my dear home state of Virginia) is much less at approximately 2.5 per year. Either way a much lower time demand than being a Disney character.
I believe there is quite a bit more to this WYR (as there often is) wherein variables like income, training, hours vary widely b/t the two. If you throw out the income variable making them equal and paying you enough to live comfortably without the need for supplement income at least for this argument then I’d choose to be an executioner. No I am not some kind of sociopath, edge lord or whatever, but I’ve learned to be okay when things get nasty and sad. Do what needs to be done and move on.