Yesterday I spent a few hours walking around cemeteries. Yeah, it’s what I do. To me, cemeteries are fascinating places, filled with stories, and filled with history. Walking into a cemetery is like walking into a library. There is biography, there is history, and there is mystery. Here’s an example of a mystery in Slatington’s Fairview Cemetery: There is a woman buried there who died at the age of 32. She is surrounded by the graves of her four children, who it appears each died at the age of two all within a few years of each other. What could possibly have happened to this family? What could this woman’s life had been like?
Most of my family is buried in that same cemetery. The exception is my paternal grandparents. They are buried in another part of town in Union Cemetery. My paternal grandparents, Wilmer and Lillian George, are not a typical topic of conversation when my family gets together. Apparently, they were not as active with the grandchildren as my other set of grandparents. But my mission was to find their grave and pay my respects.
I haven’t spent much time over the years walking in Union. But I did yesterday. It was like going on line and drifting from one distraction to another. Look, there is my family doctor when I was a kid! Look, there is the mayor when I was in high school! Look, there is one of my least favorite teachers! Look, there is someone from my high school wrestling team. I think you get my point. The cemetery is an actual record of our own lives. And a reminder of our own mortality.
I worry that future generations will not have the same experience I am having when I explore in a cemetery. The trend seems to be cremation and a saving or spreading of the ashes. No permanent record for explorers to stumble upon on a Sunday afternoon. No one will find my tombstone on a Sunday walk. I have other plans.
I did find my grandparents’ graves. It helped that I knew their stone was red rather than gray. There was the biography, and the history, full names and birth and death dates. There was also the biggest mystery of all…..Where are they now?
Enjoy this windy Monday….heat wave starts tomorrow!
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 