My Parents Purchased Cemetery Plots

(Playing in the background Drown In My Own Tears- Ray Charles The Best Of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years)
Take a look at the pictures. They are from the cemetery that my parents plan on using.

It looks relatively nice. The rolling hills, palm trees and a sea of green grass give off a pleasant aura. From my monitor it doesn't give off the cemetery vibe.

How do I describe that vibe, that feeling that you get at the cemetery. I don't recall ever discussing it with anyone, so I am not sure that I have a frame of reference that is not related to pop culture.

I can't say that this is like Scooby Doo, Thriller, the Three Stooges, Freddie, Jason or any one of the assorted sitcoms, flicks and plays that use a cemetery as a scary setting.

(Playing in the background Somebody's Crying by Chris Issak)

Maybe it is because I have been to so many funerals, but cemeteries don't frighten me at all. At worst they sometimes make me sad, but that is usually when I am there to help bury a loved one. Otherwise it is hard to put a finger on how they make me feel. It feels a bit sterile, sort of like a very solemn Disneyland. You know that there is more going on than what you see. You know that if you could just pull back the curtain there would be quite a show, although this really is one place that you don't want to see how they make the magic happen.

So mom and dad have picked the place they want to hang out in. Their so called eternal resting place. When they called to let me know that they had purchased plots I assumed that it would be close to other family members. Call me lazy, but I was hopeful that I could do the circuit at the cemetery. Forgive the pun, but why not try to kill several birds with one stone.

That is not the case. It figures. Here in the land of eternal sunshine and gridlock I foresee a future in which in order to visit my family I am going to spend time on two or three freeways.

(Playing in the background Grievous and the Droids by John Williams)

Ok, the reality is that I probably will not try and visit my great grandparents, grandparents and parents all on the same day. At the moment I am blessed to have two living grandparents as well as both parents. And in theory if all goes well I have a good thirty years or more before my parents go.

With a time frame like that there is a lot that can happen. New mediums of travel can be developed, the burning river in cleveland might be cleaned up and George Foreman will make his 36th comeback.

It is a little surreal knowing that my folks have taken this step. Let's face it, you never really are ready for your parents to die. I know that it is going to happen one day. Just as surely as my son asked me not to die the day will come for all of us, myself and my parents included.

(Playing in the background London Calling by The Clash)

I won't apologize for wanting my folks to hang around as long as possible. Why wouldn't I want to take advantage of the opportunity to continue learning from them. It took more than a few years for me to realize that they did know something after all. It took more than a few years to realize how foolish I had been in not trusting them more when I was younger, but that is youth.

Sometimes it is hard to understand that your parents were young once and that they might know a little bit about where you are today. So I suppose that I'll take a moment to consider what else I can learn from them and with that this post is finished.