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Russ
Page has been fascinated by animal reproduction for as long as he
can remember. He started breeding rabbits at age 6, and
as a teenager, in his parents' garage, he bred chickens, pigeons,
Siamese fighting fish - anything he could get his hands on. Russ
eventually got his PhD in reproductive physiology, and now runs
a business collecting bull semen. Yet animal reproduction isn't
his only passion. In recent years Russ decided to join the local
fight to prevent subdivision development from swallowing up small
family farms. By protecting the small farmer he is defending his
customers, but he is also protecting the agricultural way of life
that he loves.
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Darrell
Allen managed to complete only a sixth-grade education but he discovered
he had a genius for fixing things. He and his twin brother
Harold decided to open up their own septic tank pumping business,
and soon Darrell knew he had found his calling. Since then, Darrell
has run his own company with the help of his wife Martha. The slogan
on their bright yellow truck reads: "A Good Flush is Better than
a Full House." For Darrell, the septic tank says a lot about
our cultural habits. He traces the different stages of the sexual
revolution through the ebb and flow of contraceptives he finds in
the tanks. Fully aware of how some people look down on their work,
Darrell and Martha take pride in providing a service that so many
people need but would never do themselves. |
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Bernard
Holston was 10 years old when he built miniature coffins, dug a "cemetery"
in the backyard, and buried dead animals from his father's science
classes. Noticing this strange interest, Bernard's mother
introduced Bernard to the local funeral director. He spent his first
night on the job at age 12, and has never looked back. He eventually
trained to become a "restorative artist," who embalms bodies
and otherwise prepares the dead for viewing. Whether discussing the
finer points of how to stuff the cadaver's suit with plastic bags
for a more "natural" appearance, or the deeper matter of
how modern rituals distance people from the hard facts of death, Bernard
offers an irreverent, but profound perspective on the American way
of death.
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