reSee.it Podcast Summary
Frank Giles, a mortician in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, describes his role as a concierge for the dark arts, guiding families through the final frontier of death. The process begins with a phone call from hospice, hospital, nursing home, or county coroner; the caller provides name, location, next of kin, and basic details. Giles' crew arrives immediately, often at two o’clock in the morning, suited up, after an answering service relays the call, and they retrieve the body from the residence, hospital, or care facility. They always work with two people, because you never know what you’ll encounter, and they may need extra help with large individuals. They’ve moved bodies from attics, basements, bathrooms, bedrooms, sometimes lifting a person under 600 pounds, using sheets, body movers, and eventually a mortuary cot. Back at the funeral home, embalming begins if the family chooses it, sometimes at two in the morning, because next call could arrive any time. Giles' facility handles about 125 funerals per year at one site and about 120 at another. The business follows seasonal patterns: the first quarter is the busiest due to post‑holiday stress and the need to face losses after Christmas and Thanksgiving. In rural Christian County there is no local medical examiner; the coroner responds, and if there is no foul play and no autopsy needed, the body is released to the funeral home. In larger cities, autopsies are more common; Kentucky relies on a pathologist in Madisonville to cover the western part of the state, and autopsy decisions weigh medical history and family input. They discussed hypothetical killers choosing rural counties for fewer resources, but the conversation did not endorse any claim. After embalming, the body is preserved for viewing or cremation. If cremation is chosen, the body is placed in a chamber heated to around 1400 degrees; crematories have weight limits, sometimes 500–700 or up to a thousand pounds. A large patient once caused a grease fire in a crematory, and the operator learned a hard lesson. The cremains are ground to a powder, and the finish can vary in fineness depending on the facility. Arterial solutions for embalming include formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde with perfumes and conditioners. Chromatek pink is a common color used for cosmetic tinting; about two and a half gallons of solution are injected, while blood is flushed out through the veins. Pacemakers must be removed before cremation to prevent explosions. Between embalming and viewing, families may request changes: outfits, cosmetics, and casket choice. The famous 1985 FTC rule requires itemized charges for every service and product. Open or closed caskets are determined by family preference, and vaults may be required by cemeteries to support earth and prevent water ingress. Kentucky allows minimal dirt coverage if a vault is used; laws vary by state. They describe postmortem staining when blood settles in the face and can produce difficult concealment, and they warn jaundice can turn the body green if the wrong fluids are used. They explain wiring the mouth shut, using eye caps, and sometimes corking or plugging the body to control leakage. The interview covers open versus closed viewing and the importance of treating the deceased with dignity. Giles shares anecdotes about repatriating a World War II soldier from Bataan, airport arrivals, flag‑draped hearses, and a community response honoring veterans.