Thursday, May 30, 2019

Cemetery Visits and Deaths

We visited three cemeteries over the weekend.  We took flowers and have picked them up from two of the cemeteries.  We don't like to leave them on the graves too long as it is hard for the people that mow and trim.

The Phlox subulata is putting on its annual show at Riverside Cemetery.

Saturday at St Mary's Cemetery. I will go by and get the flowers there soon.

There were two deaths this week...old neighbors and friends.

  Al was 93 and we lived next door to him and Erna for about 10 years.  They were good neighbors.  They had a dog named Peaches that I used to dog sit.  One day there was a snake by the front step...I called Far Guy and told him I had the revolver out and I was going to shoot the snake...he said "Call Al"  so I did and Al came over and whopped it with a shovel...then held it up...I slammed the door and locked it...he just grinned at me and laid the snake on his bumper and drove away.  In the winter sometimes the Shelties ( we had four) would follow Al home from ice fishing on the lake...he would call and say "Holler for your dogs."  He was the local skunk trapper too.   He and Erna sold their lake place and moved to town.

Tess would have been 80 years old later this year.  She was a lovely woman who volunteered for me at the Museum.  She was a gem.  I will miss her...I should have stopped and visited her last week when I drove by her home..but I was in a hurry to get home myself.  She used to come into the museum about three days a week and I would get caught up on the local news and she would help me do whatever projects I had in the works or she would greet people!  She volunteered for the museum all three years I was there.  Tess leaves behind her husband Doc...he had Doc's Truckstop and Cafe in Osage for many years.

Far Side

20 comments:

Dawn said...

I'm sorry for the loss of your friends. It's so hard to let them go, but the alternative is to never have known them, and that would be the greater loss.

Rose said...

I am sorry for your loss...actually sounds like wonderful neighbors. I still miss the neighbor that lived beside us when we moved here and she has been gone over 15 yrs.

linda m said...

So sorry for the loss of your friends. May they rest in peace.

DJan said...

You are a good friend, even after they are gone. Thank you for taking the time to visit their resting places and for writing about them.

Victoria Zigler said...

I'm sorry for your losses of such wonderful neighbours.

The Feminine Energy said...

Awwww... my sincere sympathy upon your losses. :-( I can't tell you how many times I've not gone to see someone or call someone when I had the nudge to do so.... and then they passed away. I've had the nudge to call my Aunt Shirley (84yo) for the last several days. Thank you for your own "nudge" to me, to do so.

I love going to the cemetery. It reminds me of when I was a little girl & my Mom and I would go, on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Love, Andrea xoxo

Sara said...

So sorry for the loss of your friends. It does certainly seem that the older we get the more funerals we attend.

Rita said...

Hard to keep losing people from your lives. I guess that's part of the price we pay for living long enough to outlive others. Both sound like good people to have known. :)

marlu said...

Sorry for the loss of your friends. Good memories of dear friends are good things to have.

Dawn P. said...

My mother & sister came up Saturday as I live only an hour from my father's gravesite (in Andersonville National Cemetery Americus, GA); my mother is pretty ill (starting chemo shortly) and she wanted to go to the ceremony at 2 PM Sunday afternoon and I could not attend that. They left from there about 3:30 PM (and it was almost 100 degrees that day, like today) and headed back to Savannah. I am going up this weekend, June 2nd, to pick up the flower arrangement my Mom left (per the rules we have 10 days after memorial Day and then no artificial flowers until after Oct 10th), but fresh flowers allowed all summer. Since I could not go with them, I told them I will do the pick up for us. One of the advantages to being so close; I go up about once a month to visit my dad's gravesite.
Dawn P.

Debi said...

I am so sorry for the loss of your friends. You have good memories of them and that helps.

Bonnie said...

It is hard to see our friends go. It sounds like you have some very nice memories of both. I think it would make anyone feel good to know that others had good memories of them. Thank you for sharing.

Linda Reeder said...

Thank you for sharing the stories of the old friends you lost. My mind movies work along with your writing. I saw that snake clearly. Shudder. The departed live on in our memories of them.

Maebeme said...

You definitely have some wonderful memories of these friends. Al was a friend when you were in need, indeed. Volunteers like Tess aren't easy to find. My sympathies on their passing.

Henny Penny said...

Al sounds like a good neighbor to have, and Tess sounds very sweet. I enjoyed what you wrote about them both.

L. D. said...

Some people do like messing with snakes. I don’t. I still have a few garter snakes at the old place.

Betsy said...

I'm so glad you had the opportunity to visit the cemeteries. All of our family and friends are back in the midwest so there was no one to visit here. We still tried to have a little time of silence and reflection on Memorial Day with a few friends.
I'm truly sorry for the loss of your friends. It's been a rought year for you and Far Guy. Al sounded like a handy neighbor to have on call and Tess sounds like she was a dependable helper at the museum.
Blessings,
Betsy

Red said...

Memories and losses. With a loss many good memories are brought back. I'm sorry for these two losses.

Granny Marigold said...

I'm sorry for your loss. Al and Tess sound like such down to earth nice people.
I think the American tradition of visiting cemeteries on Memorial Day is so thoughtful and makes sure those who have passed on are not forgotten.

Sam I Am...... said...

They both sound like wonderful people....it seems you have a lot of wonderful people up there. I will miss that generation...many gems.