Hong Kong Ham

Looks like I’m starting to make a habit of quoting from Harper’s — but the magazine is so damn good. Below is another affecting excerpt, taken from its Readings section. It is taken from an interview with a mortician who was working during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. He describes one of his saddest experiences: when a young girl’s body has been brought in after she was killed in a traffic accident. Half her head was gone.

She looked radiant, with a sweet smile, as if she were alive. I put some French mascara on her. Her eyes looked beautiful. At the memorial service, all the attendees were shocked to see the beautiful angel lying there. They cried and took turns hugging her. I was observing from the corner, secretly praying that they would allow her to stay in the mortuary one more night, so I could look at my creation alone and bring some flowers or toys to her. But they quickly wheeled her into the crematorium after the memorial service. All my work lasted for just over an hour. Beauty doesn’t last. It’s bound to be destroyed.

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And something from the Harper’s Index:

Percentage of single US women in their twenties who are “very” or “extremely” willing to marry for money: 61

Percentage of women in their thirties who are: 74

Average compensation of the ten highest-salaried presidents of US public universities: $533,000

Number of them who earn more than the school’s football coach: 2

Percentage of Democrats who rate their mental health as “excellent”: 38

Percentage of Republicans who do: 58