Babyland

[Zen]

one of my favorite places to ride is in the very old cemetery of my town. But one of the saddest things I've ever seen is the little section called "Babyland"

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Babyland3.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/BabylandSigncopy.jpg

I personally can't imagine the deep sadness these parents must have felt.

[malkin]

Years ago at the state fair a local funeral home had a display of their products (?why?) and I burst into tears at the small and then the tiny tiny caskets.

Even in the abstract it seems unbearably sad.

[Selkie]

A couple of my aunts, in the late 1950/early 1960s, had stillborn babies who are buried and have tombstones w/little lambs on the top of them.

[oxysback]

Losing my child (even though she's not a baby) would be devastating. I tear up just thinking about it.

On a brighter note, your Mariposa looks fantastic!

[bmccasland]

I was doing a field survey for a potential restoration project and one of our potential problems was an old cemetary dating from the Civil War. Since my archaeologist didn't make the recon trip, I tromped over and took some photos of the site for him. Among the tombstones was one with a little lamb. Seemed so sad, a long forgotten family plot. I may have photos on my office computer.

[OakLeaf]

Old cemeteries really make you realize how fragile life was not so long ago, between the graves of children and those of their young mothers. I do like to wander in them when I'm in the right mood, but they're very melancholy places.

[Kalidurga]

Which cemetery is that, Zen? Looks like someplace I need to check out.

Children's markers are definitely the most moving. They're always sad, but sometimes also very sweet. This one is in a cemetery down in Middleburg, VA--

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z163/KaliDurga/Cemeteries/middleburg_cemetery1.jpg

And this beautiful little girl is in the Oheb Shalom cemetery in Baltimore--

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z163/KaliDurga/Cemeteries/Baltimore_OhebShalom/127b.jpg

[Zen]

... tombstones w/little lambs on the top of them.

oh those little lambs get me too :(

That's Mount Olivet Cemetery (http://www.mountolivetcemeteryinc.com/beauty.html) on South Market Street. You pass the front gate on the way from the Bike Doctor to downtown. I'm sure you've passed it many times.

[Kalidurga]

Ah, yes, F. Scott's resting place. I have been there, but apparently missed Babyland. I originally thought you were talking about a cemetery up around Myersville and I couldn't think of one that large.


Old cemeteries really make you realize how fragile life was not so long ago

It still is very fragile, despite improvements in nutrition and medical science.

[uforgot]

Losing my child (even though she's not a baby) would be devastating. I tear up just thinking about it.


Yes, me too. You just want to always keep them safe. My 25 year old "baby" is being deployed for the 2nd time to the Middle East in February. I hate hate hate those tours.

[Tuckervill]

I hate hate hate it, too, Claudia. {{{}}}

Karen

[Zen]

Tombstones were so much fancier back then.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/DSCN1038-1.jpg
When I die I want to be cremated then have my urn strapped to someones package rack and scattered along the towpath as they ride.

[malkin]

I want my ashes in the brew pot.

[PscyclePath]

About a year ago when I went to my uncle's funeral down near El Dorado, AR, I saw this marker that really struck my heart as an inveterate collector of old bird dogs:

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t108/TomEzell/waitingfriend.jpg

Now that's the kind of marker I'd like when I take up residence on the wrong side of the grass...

Tom

[OakLeaf]

oh that's as sad as the baby graves :(

[Trek420]

That's very sad. No parent expects to outlive their child.

Also ((uforgot son))) thanks for serving, come home soon and safe :cool:

I was listening to NPR about "natural burial" or "green burial". Instead of embalming and in a steel casket which puts tons of harmful chemicals into the ground and ... the idea is back to the earth. The graveyards becomes a park, open space. Plots can be marked by GPS so they can always be found.

"Hey, let's go geocaching to Trek's plot" JK gals. :rolleyes: :confused:

I like the idea and it beats my previous one of "put me in the compost bin and plant a garden" :rolleyes:. Obviously hope not to use the concept for a long long long long long long long long long time in the future.

[OakLeaf]

I like the idea of a green burial too, except that it's illegal in most US jurisdictions to just have yourself buried on your own land (or the land of an agreeable friend or relative). If you don't happen to die near one of the handful of licensed "green" cemeteries, the carbon footprint of refrigerating and flying your corpse to one of them probably exceeds that of cremation.

But far enough out in the woods, with either a sympathetic backhoe operator or some strong survivors with shovels, no one would have to be the wiser, I suppose.