…Unless you came to us from a funeral home. In my last post, I mentioned some of the services Spruce offers and told you to feel free to bring us your request! People come to us all the time and preface their request with, “This may seem weird but…” Really, feel free. We have dealt with most household issues–cushion-eating pets, baby accidents, and the occasional my-window-tore-a-hole-in-my-couch-when-it-blew-out-in-the-storm repair.
Hands down, my all-time favorite strange request came to me while I was sewing in the back shop. Stephanie (when she was still working with us) came to the back room and said, “Hey Lizzie, there’s someone here from a funeral home and they have some repair they need done.” Then she gave me a weird, questioning look.
I should preface this by saying that funeral homes kind of fascinate me. I’m curious and want to learn more–preferably from the TV because I have not completely come to terms with the circle of life. Six Feet Under was one of my favorite shows ever. I am amazed by people who have a grasp of this part of life and are able to help people through these situations. I am not one of them, but I’m working on it.
So I get up from sewing to see what this repair is. My mind is reeling trying to figure out what could possibly be in the front room. Has some trim on a casket come undone? Is there going to be a hearse in the parking lot? No. Instead there’s a totally nice young girl with a wad of burgundy-colored, velvet-like fabric. There’s a zipper in the fabric that has become jammed and she’s wondering if we can replace it. I take the zipper and try to get it to slide and it won’t budge. This was a really big brass zipper. All the while, I’m still trying to figure out what this thing is. I told her, “We don’t have anything quite this big. Most of what we use is plastic and the metal zipper that is about 1/3 the size of this. Does it need to be this substantial?” Then I get a sneaking suspicion of what we might be working with. She answers, “Yes, it needs to be pretty heavy-duty.” I see the plastic-y lining and then I know. This is a body bag.