Cemeteries

I absolutely love old cemeteries. Ever since I was a young girl, I looked forward to quiet, peaceful walks in a sea of statues and knobby trees. Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville is one of the most breath-taking places in the whole city. There are hundreds of species of trees in the arboretum, including swamp cedar that I called "Bell-bottom trees" when I was little. Cave Hill is home to such famous people as John Keats' brother George, Patty Smith Hill (who wrote "Happy Birthay"), famous generals, and--yes-- Colonel Sanders (who, much to the disappointment of many tourists, does not have a chicken or a bucket for a gravestone).

If you ever travel to Louisville, you must make a stop to see the Satterwhite Temple and to feed the ducks, turkeys, geese, and swans, and check out the koi and stripers in the ponds.

I love the ancient names, the sad little cherubs, the trees growing through the gravestones, and the bright colored lichens on crumbling granite gravestones that are so old that you can barely see the words. I love the incomplete stories the stones evoke, time and time again, telling of love ones remembered.

I have found none to rival Cave Hill, mostly because it was the place of my childhood, but I am sure we all have such attachments.

Portland has a few cool cemeteries:
-The Eastern Cemetery has some awesome Gothic stones in the oldest section. You can get in by the secret hole in the fence or by stopping by the book store across the street for the key. Rumor has it that the worst criminals were buried under the roads as one last "F You." The oldest known stone is dated 1717.

-Bring binoculars to Evergreen Cemetery, which is a big stop for migrating birds, especially warblers. Apparently they have a "problem" with coyotes eating the ducks. (Cause the happenings of nature are so problematic.) If you go another time, you can look for tadpoles, turtles, and gigantic snails in the pond. One spring we spotted a black-crowned night heron and a hummingbird sitting in her nest.


Here are my favorite cemetery names:
-Mehetable Coolbroth (Western Cemetery in Portland. There is also a Mehetable in Evergreen. Apparently this was a woman's name. FYI, this grave is a "hole" in the Western Cemetary Disc Golf Course.)
- Hester Sylvester (Upper Mast Landing Rd, Freeport)
-Anger Prout (Upper Mast Landing Rd, Freeport)
-Fitzhugh McGrew (Evergreen, Portland.) Wonder if he is related to Quickdraw McGraw?

Best epitaphs:
-"Jesus is mine." (Evergreen)
"Here moulders the body..."
and my favorite ever, "...His Radiant Wife, aged 84" (Prospect Hill, Brattleboro VT)

I hope when I am 84 someone would still describe me as radiant.