O-Bits: Death In (& On) The Air Edition

If  you live in Los Angeles, have recently lost a loved one (a pet, or a friend), or work as a funeral director, and have an undying need to be a reality TV star, a production company is looking for you! Not much more information is available, but if you’re interested, and are available in April, you can apply here. You might even have what it takes to be the next President of the United States (we can’t do much worse than what we have now…)

We know one business that probably wants to stay out of the spotlight these days: Bridge Pet Services, a company out of Juneau, Alaska, who offered to pick up the remains of pets that died, cremate them, and return the ashes to the owners. The cost: $35 and up. But one customer, worried that the company had not contacted them in over a month, drove over to Bridge’s facility, and instead of finding urns filled with ashes, discovered dozens of dead pets stuffed into plastic garbage bags. Mike Dziuba, Bridge’s owner, apologized for the delay, blaming it on “personal issues,” but promised to clear up the backlog as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Dubois County, Indiana coroner Bob Veatch is ready for his close-up. Profiled in the local Dubois County Free Press, Veatch claims he didn’t decide to become a coroner, but “the career  picks the person.” County coroner is only a part-time gig for the paramedic, but it’s one he can’t imagine giving up. While dealing with families in their time of grief is challenging (“the worst part of the job,” he says), he “loves the science.” The advances in technology  over the past few years “are really kind of amazing.” with a mother who was an emergency room nurse, death and medicine were part of growing up. “Death was never hidden from me,” he said. “If our parents went to a funeral home for a visit, us kids would go with them.”

Bob Veatch at work
Steven Mirkin

Steven Mirkin’s diverse career has taken him from politics to pop culture to high art, offering him a front row seat to some of the most fascinating events and personalities of our time: writing speeches, fundraising appeals and campaign materials for Ed Koch, John Heinz and independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson; chronicling the punk/new wave scenes in New York and London; interviewing musicians such as Elton John, John Lydon and Buck Owens; profiling modern masters Julian Schnabel, Paul Schrader and Jonathan Safran Foer; and writing for TV shows including 21, The Chamber, Let's Make A Deal, and Rock Star: INXS.

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