After vacillating for the better part of the morning, Patsy and I decided to pay our respects to our parents today. Got a late start, had a late, great lunch at Deanie's in Bucktown, stopped by Dad's for the 5th anniversary, then headed to Patsy's parents site in Metairie (I had never been there), and then back to Covington to catch the library before they closed. It was a long, hectic afternoon.
Dad - It's been five years
The in-laws - October 25, 2008 - Patsy's parents died a couple of months apart in 1962. I never met them. There was a freshly-dug grave next to them and some mud had gotten on the markers.
World War II Infantryman - The dates struck me - Inauguration Day to Christmas Day
Garden of Memories - Metairie, LA - October 25, 2008
Quote of the Day
Roland searched the continent
For the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa
In a barroom drinking gin
Roland aimed his Thompson gun
He didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body
From there to Johannesburg
Warren Zevon, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "How is it, that we don't have a single club on Main Street that acknowledges just how cool we are?"
Problem posting my comment...I hope this isn't a double.
Cemeteries are interesting places--particularly the older &/or historical ones. There was one in Canada with gravestones from the war of 1812. I've never been back to my dad's grave (which is somewhere in NJ.) It's been over 30 years now. His philosophy was that the body is an empty shell--the soul has gone elsewhere. As such, he'd never visited his parents' graves, either. To be honest, I was so young when he passed that I wouldn't even know where to look for him.
I know where my mom's grave is in Canada, though. She only passed away in '05. She's under a wonderful shade tree, next to her brother. Perhaps I'll visit her (& my Uncle,) on my next visit.
Thanks, Lana.
These are both beautiful cemeteries we visited today. Dad is in Greenwood Cemetery on Canal Blvd in New Orleans.
I love cemeteries, particularly the broken down neglected ones.
Thanks for the library suggestion for Casino Royale. We had to rush back today to pick it up before they closed at 5. We're enjoying it right now.
Patsy was just a little girl when she lost her parents. That's so painful and so sad...
I've never seen headstones (that I can recall) like her parents'. They are just lovely. My first name is Lillian, though I never go by it.
I like going to Oak Ridge in Springfield, Ill., and go quite frequently. It's large and hilly, has really old sections and new, and I always find something there I'd not seen before. Sometimes I try to find things I have seen before to no avail.
Yes, Marie, she was five. Lillian is a lovely name that you don't hear much any more. It was surely popular at one time. I ran across five or six yesterday during our search. We didn't have a map at first and things had changed since Patsy was there last. I had never seen markers like that, either. The flower vase on each twists and goes back down when not in use. Sadly, they have to be chained to prevent theft.
Cemeteries kinda freak me out right now. I guess its because of my grandma's death this spring. We have one in the area that has a few graves from the revolutionary war.
I think your reaction is not uncommon, Andrea. Everyone has their own rules about them.
I'll second Marie's comment on the headstones for Patsy's parents. The Garden of memories looks like a beautiful place.
Sharp eye on the WW II Infantryman marker. I'm not sure if it would be the same 136th, but there was a 136th Infantry Regiment that was part of the 34th Inf. Division(Red Bulls, MN National Guard) that served in WW II. Christmas 1944 would have had them in Italy I believe.
Lots of WWI and WWII veterans there, Dave.