As a kid and going to this cemetery with my mom, I remember vividly her comments about grave sites that have the bright, obviously fake flowers on them. When her time came, I took that to heart and make a point of planting real ones every spring. Recently, the parents have acquired a neighbor directly behind them:
The genetic producers of yours truly can be found on the right with the light colored headstone featuring the vivid colors of the hardy geranium and marigold (with the autumnal flowering mum in between) and a fresh layer of mulch. On the left are the new people with their fake flowers and a hanging pot of actual real ones. Upon my visit a few weeks ago, I noticed that they also tore up the grass and planted items in between the headstones as well - a blah, all green hosta, a peony plant and on the farside, the whore of the perennial plant world, lilies. Granted, the parents were always a fan of the peony and it is edged nicely with rocks but there is something that slightly peeves me and I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps because the middle is sort of like Switzerland. Perhaps it's because these new people moved in and obviously their offspring are pushy people. I get this feeling because not only do they have a headstone but it seems to be the new thing in the grave world to have a matching flat gravestone at the foot of where people are buried with just the last name on it which these Risters have as well. I wonder at the reasoning behind that. Is it harder to read a name on a vertical slab of granite than I think it is?
Today, the ground was wet so someone comes to water that area. I think I'm going to carry clippers in my car, just in case the mood hits to do a bit of trimming.
While I was there today, I decided to take pictures of the tacky decor on headstones in the vicinity:
I really enjoy the patriotic-flea market look that Davis has going. The 2 headstones in the shade in the back, the one on the right is the one I copied off of when it came to digging up the ground to plant the flowers. The cemetery has guidelines on how far out you can dig in front of headstones to plant flowers. I knew this person exceeded it so when I broke ground, I first measured theirs. I figured if I got grief, I'm taken them down with me. 7 years later, no complaints. 
This arrangement was obviously fake but I give them points for it at least looking somewhat summerish. I'm not completely against the use of fake flowers. I insert fake poinsettias into the 2 vases that my parents have come Christmas time but they aren't a neon color and I take them out before the end of winter. 
More neighbors with the fake stuff. My mom originally picked this spot because there was a new tree right in front of their plot which would provide them shade during the heat of the summer. It is nice to visit around 3:30 in the afternoon when the others are baking and the tree provides the perfect shade. I wonder if she would have still picked it out if she knew she would be surrounded by fake flowers. Last but not least, my favorite of all time:
The only thing I wonder...is this sort of the same reasoning as why men drive small cars? Is Earl trying to compensate for something?
4 comments:
Never understood the use of fake flowers either. With real flowers, you know someone visits. With fake flowers, it could have been a couple years since the last visit.
I have never seen a cemetery quite like that one. Why are the rows so close together? Eith all the other cemeteries the headstones are at least six feet away from the next row of headstones. I suppose it provides a handy seat for visiting with your parents. :)
The graves and the headstones are back to back. My parents face west and the Risters are facing east so you have two rows that are close and then a large gap between the next two rows. I did think that perhaps the Risters thought that the 12 inches between the two was the front but wouldn't people normally think of the front as the side where the names and dates are written? In that case, that would be on the other side where they have nothing planted. I had noticed that they had the headstone moved from it's original spot which would have made it a footstone to where it is now. I guess they aren't from around here. :-)
So, what did you do on your vacation Murf?
Posted a lot of blog entries, morphed my face onto American Girl dolls, critiqued the decorating skills of relatives of dead people, spent $1200 on getting the car repaired, watched Bob Barker's last week on The Price Is Right, got yelled at by the husband because of his poor communication skills, walked the dog and the widowed neighbor every morning...as you can see, I've been very busy. :-)
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