Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Such Is Life



Some headstones are just creepier than others. Visually, I mean. Of course they can also have a creep factor by what's written on them. My mother one time came home from a visit to Aunt Clyta in Clarksburg, West Virginia with a rant that she'd copied down from a headstone in a cemetery there. I've long since lost the rant, but if memory serves it started off with a laundry list of ills done to this woman by her family, her church, and the community as a whole. The level of bile and bitterness was nothing short of astounding. She didn't want to let go of it, even in death. Such is life, I guess.

8 comments:

drollgirl said...

kind of funny in a way, but perhaps not the best way to be remembered by!

Phoenix said...

Yikes. Here's to hoping I don't go to the grave bitter and pissed.

Although those kinds of gravestones DO make for better pictures and better stories...so maybe the woman was an entertainer at heart.

I still think Buffy's gravestone was the best (nerd alert!) "She saved the world. A lot."

Perfect. I think I'll put that on my gravestone. Either that or "Stop stepping on me!!"

Anonymous said...

Ha! I like that Phoenix!
Or...you could use the bumper sticker approach and have it read (in fine print)- "If you can read this sign, you're stepping on me."
;-)

jennifer from pittsburgh said...

If Clarksburg wasn't such a long drive, I'd go back down there and hunt up that woman's headstone ;)

Miss Kitty said...

I'm pretty sure that Dorothy Parker wanted to have the following put on her grave stone: "If you can read this, you're too close."

Anonymous said...

Since I'm a curious soul, MK, I had to look up Dorothy Parker's epitaph and found this:
"Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) Humorist, writer, critic, defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph she suggested 'Excuse My Dust'. This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit which celebrated the oneness of humankind, and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people."

Miss Kitty said...

I'm pretty sure parts of the epitaph would make poor Dorothy throw up in her mouth a little. Dang, now I have to figure out who did want that for an epitaph! "Excuse my dust" is funnier by far, so it has to be someone not as clever as DP.

jennifer from pittsburgh said...

Best epitaph, or at least one of my personal favorites, belongs to HP Lovecraft and "I Am Providence". If you've read his work...the thought of him being providence bone chilling.