Thursday, June 20, 2019

Need A Job? Try This...!

When times get hard for many of us, sometimes the answer is a second job. If you can qualify, this one might just fit the bill.

Professional Mourner



Photo credit: atlasobscura.com

The death of a loved one can be difficult to deal with, and everyone copes in his own way. Some people mourn for days before getting their lives back to normal. Others shut themselves away until they can be around people again.

Still others take it one step further and get professional mourners to do their grieving. Although it may sound weird to the rest of us, these mourners are dedicated professionals in quite a few parts of the world.

Professional mourning has been a thing for thousands of years in many regions, including Africa, China, and ancient Egypt. However, China is mostly where it’s still big business.

The job consists of showing up to the funeral and staging a believable session of mourning—complete with physically breaking down and wailing. This may sound alien to the rest of us, but it’s completely normal in Chinese culture. These pros can also earn quite a bit depending on how good they are.

I found this over on Listverse, of course.

Coffee out on the patio, where the temps are climbing every day.

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

That sounds a bit bizarre to me. I can't see why you would need someone else to do your mourning for your loved one....Rainy here again this morning. Local weather said there has only e en o e weekend in tis calender year, that we havent had a least some precipitation.

linda m said...

Would you believe that when my husbands brother died in 1978 the funeral home brought in profession mourners (this was in WI). I had never heard of this practice until he told me about it when we met. Hubby said it was just too creepy. Raining again here.

Rob said...

The truth IS stranger than fiction sometimes....

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
Pretty sad when you can't even do your own mourning.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Hey Linda...
I can see where it would seem creepy. As far as I know, it doesn't happen here is Texas.
Crazy, crazy weather all over.
Thanks for coming over today!

Hey Rob...
I reckon it is at that!
I appreciate the visit today!

JO said...

That's creepy. But if someone needs the money bad enough I guess its a job.

Yes mornings are best for patio time then it's close up the house from the heat.

HermitJim said...

Hey Jo...
Evidently they make good money at it.
Thanks, dear, for dropping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

I think that is job I could handle. I bet for a couple extra buck I could shed a lot of tears, too.

Sixbears said...

If you have a dark conservative suit, a somber expression and a good back, you would always work for a funeral parlor. They need people to move caskets around.