The place where we lived and worked for 10 years in the National Park there were people who came there periodically who wanted to get married. There was a pastor in that valley who had a small church there, but he was not interested in performing weddings for anyone who came visiting to the valley. Someone questioned him once fearing that he might think I was moving in on his territory, but he said that he was not interested, because he wanted to know the people that he was performing ceremonies for, and normally people coming we didn't know them. He wanted to counsel them, and make sure he was happy about the marriage union. At one time our organization forbid us to perform ceremonies for anyone who had a former marriage. But that changed, and the way I thought about it is that they were going to get married anyway, and find a preacher some how, so it might as well be me! So I performed lots of ceremonies for people I didn't know. I also did one funeral service there, and provided transportation for one family dumping their family member's ashes in a creek. This lady was a former school principal in a school I had taught in years before this. She said, "You called me by my first name, Roberta; now how do you know me, and I refreshed her mind. I had also taken a college course from her. This one couple approached me to perform their ceremony, and I told them I would. Then just before the ceremony the bride to be and I discovered that she had been my first cousin's son's wife! When she found out who I was it just about ruined her day. She knew who my mother was, related to her former husband, but I didn't know her, and she didn't know me, until we discovered that, and then I wondered what my cousin would think? But he didn't seem to be mad at me, so I guess it was okay.
I asked a Funeral Home if I could use them for a contact for my unemployment a couple of years ago. The guy who owned the Funeral Home said he would be happy to do that for me if I would give them my resume'. Well, I did, and that has been a long time ago. The Funeral Home owner's daughter's husband's Mom and Dad live just a few miles from us, and they are all involved in it, kind of like a family affair! Anyway our daughter told me just a few days ago that the son-in-law who operates a crematorium, and is one of the Funeral Directors was wondering if I would be willing to preach funeral services for some who don't have a minister of their own. So shortly I may be doing funerals instead of weddings!
