Okay, so it's not a normal tourist spot, but I think that it is an enjoyable place to visit. The Greenlawn Cemetary was quiet when we drove in earlier this week. Filled with many lovely historical memorials, this well kept grounds felt peaceful and interesting. I like to wander through graveyards - who were theese people? Some family plots had many small graves - sons and daughters who did not live through childhood, something that seems incomprehensible in this day and age. Some had large, intricately carved monuments, or even mausoleums, possibly with stained glass windows (Tiffany!). Some were veterans, named and unnamed.
Why do people spend so much money on the gravesite of their departed relatives? Will we remember them better with a larger headstone - or even mausoleum? Do we think of them more highly with an intricate memorial? Or are we just supposed to enjoy the beauty of the stone and reflect on life?
Mom told of the relative who claimed he wanted to be frozen and pounded into the ground - no fuss over him when he was gone. Gone are the days of simple burials. Why do we need satin-lined caskets? Will a plain pine box not do the job? Perhaps we put up such a show as a way of making our last impression, or even a lasting impression. But shouldn't our life be more impressive than our grave?
Aah, things got more in depth than I meant for today... back to the beauty of the graveyard. Old cemeteries are interesting places to visit, to reflect on life and the beauty to be found in it, to think of mortality and the chance to live forever. Even stone memorials don't last.
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