Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Quirky

I have an affinity for cemeteries, particularly old ones.

When I was a kid, my parents used to drive us up to New England to see the spectacular fall colors, buy early apples, take in a covered bridge or two and, at my mother's urging, stop and read gravestones.

By age 11, I was hooked on 18th century center hall Colonial architecture and dead people.

Here lies the body of Jonathan Pulter who departed this life
April ye 27th 1708 in ye 40th year of his age
(doing the math for you, that means he was born in 1668).
The stone above stands in the Ye Olde Burying Ground (I am not making this name up) in Lexington, MA. This wasn't the oldest grave there, but the carvings were fantastic for being 304-years-old. Memento Mori. Fugit Hora.

The graves were lined up in a sort of Stonehengesque pattern, so even if headstone placement was no longer accurate, the preservation of this pre-Revolutionary cemetery was stunning.

(With thanks to my pal Betsy for getting out of the van with me so we could check on everyone. She, too, is a bit of a cemetery wonk.)


In that we got a little mixed up on our departure time from Boston last week, we managed to squeak in a little more time on The Freedom Trail and the delightful cemetery that is the Granary Burying Ground. We are talking Paul Revere, Sam Adams, John Hancock and a Colonial crowd of notables. 


It was growing late as we walked up to the cemetery. The graves in the center literally were bathed in the setting sun. (The gates were locked by the time we got there, so I was unable to determine who the illuminati were.)

All of the pictures were taken with my phone, so the quality is poorer than usual. I suspect my DSLR would've picked up on any apparitions.

Boston is by far my new favorite city. We are moving there, if I can convince my husband.

So far, he is sold on the clam chowder. The cost of living, not so much.



Linking up this week with Mrs. Matlock and Alphabe-Thursday. Check out other Q contributors at http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/

24 comments:

w said...

wow. um. wow. lol.

the clam chowder should be enough to move your hubby...

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I think I want to move there! I'm a sucker for good clam chowdah...

hah!

4kids, 2 guinea pigs, 1 happy family said...

Unusual affinity, but very interesting. We recently visited an old seamans graveyard, it was so interesting and I just had to take loads of photos!
x

Leovi said...

Very beautiful, I love those pictures, that cemetery is very nice.

Sandy said...

I need to show your post to my family. I'm not the only one who loves walking through the dead..lol I always search out old tombs and take photos.
Love this post!
Sandy

Monica said...

We recently moved up the road from Boston to New Hampshire. I've been dying (ok, not literally!) to go and walk through some of the cemeteries here. They are beautiful! (My kids think I'm weird!)

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful 'quirky' post for Q ~ great photos ~ (A Creative Harbor)

Judie said...

We have a lot of old cemeteries around here, and I plan to visit them. Your photos are actually not bad for a phone. Great "Q" choice!!

lissa said...

I don't think it's quirky to like cemeteries, in New York City there is a church with a grave site surrounding it and right in the middle of traffic and people passing back and forth - not quirky or even weird, though I don't read the grave stones since most are too old with the letters rubbed off

Along These Lines ... said...

Cemetery: a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Unknown said...

I love the effect of the light on the tombstones.

debra said...

Wonderful Q post! It's amazing to see what everyone's coming up with for the letter Q :)

My name is Riet said...

people just need a hobby and when it is graves, so be it. :)))))

SarahBeth said...

Old cemeteries are beautiful and interesting - you got some lovely shots! I like the above ground cemeteries in New Orleans -- creepy!

Kathy and Freddy said...

I love that cemetery, and I love the setting sun! Good job on that photo.
Very cool.

Annesphamily said...

I love the cemetery! As a kid my uncle Louie took all of us kids on a Sunday outing which included walking thru the cemetery. We would pick mulberries off the trees and he would toss coins on the grass and we were so clueless we would pick up those coins as if God himself sent them to us! Last Sundsy I strolled thru my hometown cemetery. I stopped by the graves of my folks and many phamily members. Had to let Uncle Tom know his Cowboys won their football opener at home!
The cemeteries are so full of history. I would love to go to Boston for that very reason! Sigh!
Good luck with the move, if you can talk him into it!
I love quirky!
Hugs Anne

Maureen Wyatt said...

You must come and visit me! The graveyard beside my house is 200 yrs. old. I love to wander it and read the stones. The saddest part is the whole families of children that died from things like Diptheria or Typhoid. I wish you could have seen who the Illuminati were! ~ Maureen

Lmkazmierczak said...

Lovely post. Thanks for being quirky♫♪

SarahBeth said...

Just popping back in to answer a question you left for me.... (about pineapple sandwiches) Yes, I think fresh pineapple would be absolutely delicious! I've only used the canned type, but I'll have to try fresh one of these days!
Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet said...

Hello.
It's an unusual hobby, but one has to admit the architecture on some of these old gravestones is pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Quench My Fire

anitamombanita said...

I love cemeteries. I have hundreds of photos of old grave markers. You can learn a lot about a town, a culture, a society by wandering around a graveyard.

Wanda said...

I agree--old cemeteries are fascinating. There is just much pride and personality in old-fashioned monuments. If you haven't been, you should check out the older sections of Arlington National Cemetery. Also, though we didn't have visit them, the above ground crypts in New Orleans looked fascinating. Each one seemed larger and more elaborate than the one next to it.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Interesting and unusual, but very charming indeed!

Jenny said...

I love old cemeteries, too!

Boston has some amazing ones as do so many cities on the East coast!

It would be fun to move to Boston...gosh...who can afford to live there, though!

Thanks for quite a fun stop for Alphabe-Thursday's letter "Q".

A+