"Most people are happily unaware that the Texas Funeral Service Commission exists. When it flickers briefly in the public consciousness, it’s usually under grotesque headlines: bodies used for medical experimentation, an embalmer castrating a corpse with a scalpel." @sarahesmith23.bsky.social
Exclusive: The Texas agency that regulates funerals imploded. What happened?
The Texas Funeral Service Commission imploded this summer. This is what happened behind the scenes at the agency meant to regulate death care.
houstonchronicle.com
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Still, the messages kept coming.
One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.
I called William, feeling panic rise like hot liquid in the back of my throat.
He told me to stay calm. He told me to send the woman a list of crisis resources, starting with the 988 national suicide hotline. He told me to remember that reporters are not trained therapists or counselors, just human beings doing the best we can.
“You should try to help, but whatever this woman does or doesn’t do, it may happen regardless of anything you say,” William said. “It’s not up to you.”
I did what he said, then fell asleep refreshing the app, checking for a reply. The next morning, a message appeared below her name: “This person isn’t using Signal.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fx3fhjmycoch4eaebv5jczmy/bafkreigvrlslwslx6tzmyxt4grkmfz4iryongukuumrt5u6xpglwqytw44)
