Boo Hoo

We can't go to the cemetery tomorrow as we planned because of all the rain we had today. I was looking forward to it- me and my friend, Susan.

It's just going to be far too muddy.

I do have a little confession. How I said before I'm not afraid to go to cemeteries.. not even in the dark. Well, this one that we are going to has {{{gasp}}} snakes! I know because we saw a huge one last time, which I really didn't see as it scurried quickly under a large pile of wood that had been cut down from the overgrown tree branches.

Normally, I don't mind snakes. But big, huge, whopping Oh-My-G0d-Did-You-See-That?! snakes; not so much.

Also, this particular cemetery is very old- 1862- and has all but been abandoned at one time. It sits very far back from any life- it has a gate and a road that leads up to it, which, if you were to walk, you'd think you were in one of those horror movies. I promise you, you would.

And one last thing. I want to tell you a story about the last time I was there. Something caught my eye and it was over to my left as I squatted down on my knees to better read a grave. As I was learning this man came all the way from Denmark in the 1800's, and what do you think? A bone. Not an animal bone! It was a bone from a human vertebrae- a back bone. I didn't know if I should leave it or take it. Leaving it seemed wrong and taking it seemed wrong.

I decided after much moral and ethical debate as to what the proper thing to do was- I did take it. I gave it to my friends who own a mortuary, you know, to show them and they said, yes, this is human all right. Nonetheless, they said the DNA would be so extremely old, there's really no way of knowing who the bone belonged to; so I kept it, which posed numerous complexities for me as I'm highly organized... I don't happen to have a "bone collection".

I found a little grey glass case with soft sides, and there it resides in my upper left kitchen drawer. Waiting.. Ha.

I Don't Know Why I Feel Comfortable Here

Pause, stranger, when you pass me by,
For as you are, so once was I.
As I am now, so will you be.
Then prepare unto death, and follow me.

My favorite psalm- "So teach us to number our days so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 90-12.

I like being in a cemetery. It calms me. It reminds me of how-important-is-it-really? It reassures me. It's, in a word that perhaps others do no not understand- wonderful. I am unafraid. I can go to any cemetery even in the dark.

As I've stated in my profile, I am an entrepreneur and own several companies. While visiting with some of my business associates, "Ellen" told me, "Oh yes. Heavens. We lived above a funeral home. That's how I grew up. The funeral home was downstairs and we lived upstairs- you couldn't flush the toliet when the funeral was going on!"

I had no idea. I want to talk to her more about her experiences- but then the talk turned back to business and her childhood was long forgotten. As I listened to her- all I could think about was that toliet she was forbidden to flush. I wanted to know MORE. And then what? What else?