cemeteries

ahhh!

I love cemeteries.  They're peaceful, for one thing.  And I learn a lot.  Many of my character's names come from names I've seen on headstones.  Some of my ideas grow from cemeteries ... I began pondering the universe after seeing a stone that instead of saying 'loving mother' or 'loving wife' listed the deceased's mantra: "Screw guilt, embrace the universe."

Listing the philosophy by which we live our lives should be required on our gravestones.  It's a parting gift to mortality, and it's cool.  I've long forgotten the name of whoever said 'screw guilt, embrace the universe', but her words live on in me, and others, and inspire.

Little statues, however, are another thing.  Cemetery statues terrify me.  Stone babies and angels and lambs and children.  I find them right creepy, for some reason.  This one, with its hollow-looking eyes and wearing a pair of purple children's socks, seems more fitting for a horror movie than a token of comfort.

But that's just me . . . .