Between Two Urns: Undertaker Thomas Lynch
episode
GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
47 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 9 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the premise of the “Between Two Urns” episode and who is the guest?
Welcome to the Jerry Paul Podcast. This is Eric Rudera. This is Alex Smith. And Alex, we have a special episode today, between two urns.
Between two urns. We have to give credit for who came up with this idea. Or do you think he wants to give credit? We give credit. So who came up with this name?
Miguel Baneagua, who we heard from him that he was gonna do an ACP session on Between Two Urns, including uh funeral director or mortician, to talk about it in uh a play on Between Two Ferns.
Yep, but we are not going to be like Zach Galifanakis in our interview with our esteemed guest today, Thomas Lynch, who is an undertaker and poet in Michigan. He is the author of six collections of poems and six books of essays, and he has a book of short stories and a novel forthcoming. I was honored to meet Thomas after he published his book, The Undertaker Life Studies for from the dismal trade in the late nineties. Uh he was a guest of Guy Miko, who's been on this podcast a few times at UC Berkeley uh in the late nineties. Thomas, welcome to the Jerry Powell podcast.
Thank you very much. I'm glad to be here.
We talk a lot about what happens before people die. Sometimes we've talked about what happens when people die. Uh I'm excited to talk about what happens after people die. I don't think we've we've done an episode on this, so but before we get into that, we always do a song request. Thomas, did you have a song request for Alex?
I I I would like to hear Time Time Time, Tom Waits's standard classic.
Uh and Thomas, why did you choose this song?
Because uh I was once asked to write the last op ed of the century for the Times. Uh the New York Times. And uh I gave it this title, talking about Oh, we can get plenty more of everything but time. It was at the turn of the millennium and they thought that was cute. So
So it was like a a eulogy for the the l the century. Uh
sort of, yes.
Okay, Alex.
Absolutely love this song. It's so hard to do Tom Waits, so on this version I probably won't growl it out, but I might do it on the recorded version that everybody hears who is listening audio only. The smart money's are on hollow, and the moon is in the street. The shadow boys are breaking all. And you're East of East St. Louis, and the wind is making speeches, and the rain sounds like a round of applause. And Napoleon is weeping in the carnival saloon. His invisible fiancee is in the mare. And the band is going home, it's raining hammers, it's raining nails. And it's true there's nothing left for him down here. And it's time, time, time. And it's time time time. And it's time time
that you love And it's time time time.
A beautiful song.
I love Tom Waits. He's such a good lyricist and such a unique voice. Great choice. Thank you so much, Thomas.
You bet.
Thank you. Okay, Thomas. I gotta ask, uh Alex called you an undertaker. Uh are you an undertaker, a funeral director, a mortician? I don't know the definitions of any of those.
Well I'm all of the above. A funeral director is what goes on our sign because We don't wanna be confused with the you know, with wedding planners. And um and usually people Uh they used to talk about the undertakers parlor. I always like the word undertaking because It has this meaning of uh promise or a pledge. Uh that you pledge to follow through on. I think the agreement between, for example, The role I have in Milford, Michigan. And I've had since nineteen seventy four as the only funeral director in the town. Is that one When trouble happens. When there's someone dead. You can call and we answer the phone. And this seems very basic, but try it with your insurance agent. Or your pastor. You know, or your banker at three o'clock in the morning.
And try it with your funeral director. I I think you'll mostly get answering machines. But the fun director tends to be the one who picks up You know, in real time in answers because when there's trouble we sort of We respond to that emergency. This emergent reality that someone we love has just died.
Yeah. And oftentimes unexpected. My mom died in a couple months ago. Again, unexpected.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the premise of the “Between Two Urns” episode and who is the guest?
0:00–6:06
2
Why did Thomas Lynch request Tom Waits’ song “Time” and what does it mean for the show?
6:06–11:44
3
How does Thomas define the role of an undertaker, funeral director, and mortician?
11:44–17:03
4
What are the emotional and ritual impacts of viewing an open casket or preparing a body?
17:03–23:48
5
How did Jessica Mitford’s *The American Way of Death* shape the conversation about funeral costs?
23:48–30:16
6
Why do so few people actually attend a cremation, and how has cremation usage changed over time?
30:16–36:01
7
What is a green burial and why is it gaining interest in places like Marin County?
36:01–41:21
8
What training do undertakers receive and how do they guide families through death and grief?
41:21–47:33
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
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