Thursday, July 31, 2014

Cemetery Trip

I still owe you all pics from our cemetery trip the weekend before last.  This is your warning that you're about to embark on a journey with a fat guy in a white tee that he probably should not have ever worn in public, rainy day or not.

I should also note that I got all the flowers I took down that day from a couple of cool booths at the Dixie Peddlers Mall.  The flags I brought were leftovers from my own booth 4th of July stock.


Putting flowers on my grandmother's grave



I always have to take a couple of minutes to chat with my grandmother when I'm there.  Out of everyone at the cemetery, I miss her the most.  My cousin who lives across the road says that she comes over and talks to Grammie all the time.  She was something else, my grandmother.


My grandfather's parents


My grandfather has two flags, because I brought one and the one the VFW put out on Memorial Day was still there.  

My grandmother's parents

This is the plainest my great grandparents grave has ever looked.  Bit by bit, the ones who do most of the flower-bringing are fading away.  I wish I lived close enough to get down there more often.


I need to do something about all those bare hooks at my parents' graves.  It just looks kind of sad.  At least one of them needs to go, but I start to fear that someone will come over and not have a place to put some flowers.  The hook on the far right is the one my mother used to put out flowers for my father.  Next time I'm down there, I'll move it between the graves and take the middle hook, that I put in.

Missing Mama

I wasn't sold on that saddle arrangement, until I saw it on her tombstone.



It's a good thing I brought the flags.  Dad's VFW flag had broken off, so I replaced it with this one.  I cannot believe it's been almost ten years.


Finally, a shot of me cleaning bird shit off Dad's grave with my bare hands!  (I used a lot of hand sanitizer when I got back in the van.)  It was just a small spot.

4 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

That's right - your mom died less than a year before mine. Still sucks, too.

laurie -magpie ethel said...

My mom and I clean our family graves each Memorial Day and something calm and a good connection to those that we loved. Our cemetery dates to the 1800s so an interesting to visit.

CAMPBELL? That is my maiden name! Could we be related????

Linda @ A La Carte said...

That is so great that you do that. None of my relatives are buried near me. My Dad died 9 years ago and is in Houston and when Mom passes that is where she wants to go and be with him. I miss my Dad so much!
hugs,
Linda

Shara said...

I like the photo of you visiting with your Grandma. That's sweet.

The Breadman's family is all in a little country cemetery WAY out in the boonies. The best part is the way everyone decorates the graves - balloons, angels, NASCAR die-casts, big ceramic frogs, colored rocks, solar lights. I mean, it's all sort of cluttered and tacky until you realize that all those things mean things to the family.