Cemeteries

The age of the West shows itself when looking at the cemeteries of the East. The memorials to the dead show up prominently as we travel through the small towns. We've seen small almost eroded headstones next to churches and we've seen monumental plaques that can look like missles or like huge granite chess pieces or like a purposeful statement of importance to the other lifeless headstones standing at attention in the grass. Respecting the dead means a lot to the living, but it's a bit curious to me that a society that works so hard at finding all possible ways to live till the bitter end still try to instill life into the past.

The cemeteries draw me because they represent so many families, so much history. The who, what, why, and when of individual names carries a subtle message of importance even though I will likely never know any of the stories buried in the plots. Seeing them displayed as prominently along highways, on hillsides and in towns reminds me of how much sacrifice is paid by all at some point along a family's history. It's humbling....and inspring.

pvm