Funeral Homeless

Church trucks rolled into position. Caskets found temporary homes.

“That’s all. That’s all. This is business. Our business. If we take this chance, we could lose the house and everything we have. I’m not ready to let that happen,” Jalinka Gosling of Gosling and Friends Funerary Services and Crematory.

“You changed the name. That was probably a good idea. I just think we’re going to need more resources before we go national,” Redmond Sawson pointed out. “You’re going to need a name change again, though.”

“Why?”

“It’s kind of a mouthful.”

Jalinka sighed. “You’re probably right.”

“Yeah, the name change would be great.”

“No, about the business itself, not just the name. If we corporatized the business like a Fortune 500 business right here in Delaware, people are going to balk.”

“No, they’re going to talk.”

Jalinka shot back. “Yes, talk about everything from being money-grubbers to weirdos.”

Sawson rolled the caskets into the place where they would be staged.

“I’m just ready to make more money off of our efforts. Is that such a sin?”

“People are going to be lined up with picket signs if we make a family concern into a national or even global corporation, people will say we’re greedy profiteers capitalizing off of grief.”

“But we are! That’s the point. We’re not a non-profit here. We’re supposed to make money here. Our condolences are sincere. Our professionalism is matchless. So, why not take this entire thing to a place where no one has elevated?”

“You want to be a FANG?” Sawson asked.

“Yes. Look at our Digital Digs technology. We have whole cemeteries now with our technology where people can look at, feel the lives of their loved ones. To know the digital makeup of their family and friends is something that has been seen in a few pockets but never fully embraced.”

“And that’s alright with you?”

“You’re goddamn right,” Jalinka said.

Sawson sighed. They stopped their physical toil. “I know that you want to be listed amongst the blue chips. I know you wanted to be in the forty under forty.”

“Yeah?”

“So, I’m saying that you can be another black woman billionaire with this.”

“You believe me?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re on board with taking GFFSC to the mainstream?”

“No.”

“No?! Why not?”

“This is not US MaLe. This is the barber and beauty shop around the way. It’s about community not company. It’s about cherishing the fact that we’re local and still raking in profits.”

“Our business is still local but like US MaLe, it’s going to be on every other street corner.”

“This isn’t exactly Starbucks.”

“I know. This is going to be Apple.”

“You know that people already look at us as seeing the dollar before anything. Why would we go and further that false narrative?”

“Because this is true for Wilmington and will be true for the world. We won’t have to always be running around in search of another Miley to be another director or you having to lift the weight of anyone. You’ll be my COO. You’ll be able to take off from there.”

“COO? We’re funeral directors Jal.’ Yes, this is a business but this isn't a big business.”

“Yet.”

“If we expand this company, then we’re going to get more backlash than we had when the crematorium stopped working last winter and the remains only incinerated partially. It’s going to be worse than that,” Sawson replied.

“We’re going to avoid that. We’re going to ensure that all of our locations will be streamlined and fully equipped to deliver optimum efficiency,” Jalinka answered.

“Now you’re sounding like a CEO.”

“I know.”