Freaky Deaky

Gravestones with high quality photos of the deceased embossed on them.

Freaky deaky, baby.

I don't think embossed is the right word. Embalmed? Just kidding.

You get the point.

I stumbled upon an area in the cemetery yesterday with four or five gravestones like this in one small area. I haven't seen this before and I don't know why they were clustered in this area.

Some kind of bureaucratic cemetery rule? Like "we keep all the freaks together."

Because it was freaky.

I wandered amongst them and was uncomfortable. Maybe because it makes death more personal; more real.

Generally, I feel at peace in this place; somber, thoughful. I was a bit edgy yesterday.

I was continually drawn back to one stone that had a beautiful picture of the husband and wife on it. Arms around each other looking straight out at me. Smiling.

It really emphasized what these people had lost.

I prefer to read inscriptions and epitaphs, check out names and dates, very much aware that I am in a place where I am not yet ready to take up residence. Merely passing through. I prefer not to look at faces.

I came across a stone with a picture of a man with his daughter. He was forty years older than she was; they died on the same day. Some kind of story there.

His birthday was January 1, 1937. That freaked me out a bit. For those who don't pay attention, my birthday is January 1.

I undertsand the desire to personalize gravestones, and I'm sure it means an awful lot to those left behind. You get to look into their eyes while you visit and talk to them. Keep their memory forever fresh in your mind.

It is just too real for me. 

Part of what I enjoy about the cemetery is the anonymity. I can read the stone and get images in my mind based on dates, names, inscriptions, style of stone etc. Create stories. My mind is free to wander.

But pictures, man. Too much.  Pictures take the guesswork out of the whole deal.

P.S. - I continue to hunt my White Whale.