Where is Rex?

     Today, the dog and I went on a small road trip to the Evergreen Cemetery in Manchester to take a requested photo for findagrave.com. It has been a very dry winter so far, and what is usually a very lush and green cemetery is very brown and overgrown :-(  The local community cleans up the cemetery every June, but to me, that is not often enough.  It is obvious which plots are being taken care of (it is strange to see the plots of relatives of people I know from town.)

     One of the few things that I do not like about cemeteries is the amount of infants and children that are buried there.  Luckily infant mortality is not a common as 100 years ago.  It is heartbreaking to see families who have a lot of children that did not live five years.  (One family here has five infants, none of whom lived longer than a week.)

     I found "Rex's Twin" just across from where I was taking my photo.  I looked throughout the plot, and did not see "Rex."  (If he were still alive he would be near 100 years old).  Often with infant grave markers (that do not have a name listed) it will say Infant LAST NAME  or Beloved Child of NAME OF PARENTS.  I have never seen a grave marker like this one.  No name, simply Rex's Twin.

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A representation of life

     I love when grave markers are personalized.  This is one of my favorites.  I have no idea what the symbols mean, (although I do like the elephant with the raised trunk!) this unique headstone represents a unique life.  I have always viewed cemeteries as museums, and that the artwork contained within should be enjoyed!  Someone put a lot of thought into this marker, and I am sure that the Anthropologists of the future will have a lot of fun interpreting this one :-)

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A simple way of saying Thanks

Not one of my best photos, but definitely one of my favorite graves. Decades ago, when I was a teenager, I found this grave in a small Point Arena (California) cemetery. I was fascinated by how young he was when he died in World War 1. Long before the internet and simple research I always wondered what happened to this small town war hero.
He was drafted and sent to New Jersey, where he contracted pneumonia and died, during basic training. Within a month of leaving home, he died. An only son. He is buried alone (the rest of his family is in Anderson (California).
It was big news when he died. The county mourned. It was on the front page of all of the papers. Unfortunately it is a common sacrifice that is being made everyday. So much for the war to end all wars nearly a century ago.
I have adopted this grave. I clear it out and make sure the weeds are cleared. I plant flowers, and cringe whenever I see that one of the bushes (like the one in this photo) has been trimmed to the point of near death. I make sure he has a flag on Memorial and Veterans Day, and do what I can to take care of it.
I have been blessed that no one in my immediate family has been killed in war (although I do come from a military family), so I have adopted this Roy and his grave. A small sacrifice of effort on my part for someone who made the ultimate sacrifice for me.
Thank you for reading :-)

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

I am back and I have photos to post :-) I will be organizing and publishing within a day!