Brian Damage
04-19-2010, 02:11 PM
You’re working on Days this time without a guarantee. Any idea how long you’ll be around?
No, but I’m not concerned about it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years in this business, it’s that a contract doesn’t mean you’re around long-term. You can sign a deal and three months later you’re off the canvas. They either like you or they don’t. And today they like me! Tomorrow that might not be the case, so I focus on today. There was a time I’d freak out if I didn’t have a job—in fact, I felt I had no identity unless I was acting—but those days are over. Now I have two careers.
Yeah, and I hear business is deadly!
[Laughs] For almost two years now I’ve been working at Rose Hills Memorial Park, a cemetery-mortuary [in Los Angeles], as a family service counselor. It’s a great opportunity to be of service to people. I feel very fortunate. I wanted to do something with my life that’s meaningful. Some people might consider this weird or desperate or a step down, but I don’t. I’m helping people at one of the most difficult times in life and that means the world to me.
What do you do there exactly?
When a family experiences a loss, I’m the first counselor they sit down with. I help them select a property—which is what we call a grave—then bring them to a funeral arranger. A couple of weeks after the service, I’ll drop by their home and make sure they’re doing okay. I’ll bring information and materials that might help them, like how to wrap things up financially for the deceased. I remind them about all the stuff that might still need to be done, like canceling newspapers and car insurance, things like that.
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/soaps/the-busy-days-of-judi-evans-life-4710.html
No, but I’m not concerned about it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years in this business, it’s that a contract doesn’t mean you’re around long-term. You can sign a deal and three months later you’re off the canvas. They either like you or they don’t. And today they like me! Tomorrow that might not be the case, so I focus on today. There was a time I’d freak out if I didn’t have a job—in fact, I felt I had no identity unless I was acting—but those days are over. Now I have two careers.
Yeah, and I hear business is deadly!
[Laughs] For almost two years now I’ve been working at Rose Hills Memorial Park, a cemetery-mortuary [in Los Angeles], as a family service counselor. It’s a great opportunity to be of service to people. I feel very fortunate. I wanted to do something with my life that’s meaningful. Some people might consider this weird or desperate or a step down, but I don’t. I’m helping people at one of the most difficult times in life and that means the world to me.
What do you do there exactly?
When a family experiences a loss, I’m the first counselor they sit down with. I help them select a property—which is what we call a grave—then bring them to a funeral arranger. A couple of weeks after the service, I’ll drop by their home and make sure they’re doing okay. I’ll bring information and materials that might help them, like how to wrap things up financially for the deceased. I remind them about all the stuff that might still need to be done, like canceling newspapers and car insurance, things like that.
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/soaps/the-busy-days-of-judi-evans-life-4710.html