I Guess The Funeral Business

Is pretty darn lucrative!

Of course, people are dying to get in there, ha ha. And you never run out of customers.

We have a local funeral home that runs commercials on TV, so when you see the founder, Ray Mish, in person it's kind of odd, like I know that person from somewhere, and oh yeah, he's the undertaker guy! He's probably about 90 now, having started his business here in Bakersfield in 1961, and now runs the place with his son and another partner.

Well, last night I decided to take myself to dinner at Hodel's Country Dining, which is a buffet restaurant but a nice buffet, not like Hometown Buffet or Golden Corral, the feedbags of America. Hodel's is locally owned by, you guessed it, people named Hodel and the founder was a lunch lady who started the restaurant after retiring from lunch lady duty some 40 years ago. I guess she really liked to cook! They do a lot of business meetings, catering, weddings and such and are open 7 days a week to eat as much as you want, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Anyway, it's always a little strange going to a restaurant by yourself, but since you don't have to wait to get your food at Hodel's, not quite as weird as sitting in Denny's or someplace like that waiting for your food while people look at you like why are you eating alone? Which I have done, not the staring at people, the eating alone thing, one time riding the bike over to IHOP for dinner just because I wanted to.

They have a salad bar, soup bar, rolls, fried fish, fried chicken, side dishes, vegetables, and an assortment of other dinner type dishes that change each day. The last time we went for dinner they had an enchilada casserole thing that was really really good. They are also famous for their cinnamon rolls, which they keep warm for you on a heated serving thing, along with cupcakes and cobblers for dessert.

I'm getting my plate(s) of salads and chicken and green beans last night and pass an elderly man all dressed up in a nice suit walking with a cane, and I realize it is Ray Mish and he is having dinner with his son.

Then, as I'm leaving, so are Ray and his son and they are parked opposite me in the parking lot and they are getting into a giant Hummer. I also noticed as Ray was getting into the Hummer, which I think his son should have helped him do but didn't, that he had a couple of huge incredibly sparkly diamond mens rings on his fingers.

Lucrative indeed.