Soapbox By Kay

Photos at the Cemetery

Find-A-Grave is a website where people can make virtual memorials for their loved ones, including cemetery locations, photos, and links to other family members’ memorial pages. People who live far away from where their family members have been buried can post photo requests, and, in turn, many volunteer to fulfill photo requests for memorial parks in their communities. Which is how I ended up at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens this afternoon, riding around in a golf cart with Sam.

I’ve gone over there a couple of times before with short lists, just popping in and asking for a quick assist. But when I stopped by this past Monday, it was with a list of eleven names, and Patty, one of the Family Service Counselors, was already booked for the rest of the day. She kindly took my spreadsheet and we set a time for me to return this morning. She looked all the names up in their records, noting the few that were not actually interred there (still valuable information for family members), along with the coordinates for the remaining sites.

But it was Sam, the other Family Service Counselor, who was available this morning to escort me around the grounds. Armed with about five different maps in five different sizes, all mounted on sturdy pieces of cardboard, he expertly shuffled between them, kind of like a cross between a Vegas blackjack dealer and a professional juggler, all while safely maneuvering the three-bench golf cart on the winding trails. Our last stop was near the mausoleum pictured above. I thought the stained-glass pieces resembled stylized horns, such as Gabriel might wield in the hopefully very-distant future. Sam wasn’t sure, so I’ve zoomed in on the detail so get further opinions. Do y’all see horns, too, or is this just another example of my very active pareidolia?