Wake The Dead

Well I thought I would talk a little bit more about my SD trip because I've been wanting to talk more about the cemetery anyway. Visiting a cemetery is a very sobering experience - I mean, all those people were once actually alive. They had families, they had hopes, they had dreams and ambitions. They held a place in this world and they were important to someone somewhere.

I've always loved walking through cemeteries. They are haunting and eerie and also somewhat beautiful. I like to read the headstones to see what people had to say about them and then I wonder if that was really the truth or if old uncle Ned was really a raging alcoholic and to say that he was a beloved family member was the best that the left behind could come up with. It's also really tragic to stumble upon the grave of a child. They hadn't really even begun to live yet, and already they have lost their life.

The cemetery we visited in San Diego was full of war vets. Naval war vets. There were so many grave markers of the vets and their wives. I only took pictures of a small portion of the cemetery, but there were still so many white headstones. I don't think my pictures do the cemetery justice, but I think the vets would approve.

The view from one side of the cemetery.

There were so many gravemarkers!

I wanted to give it an interesting angle to show of the true beauty there is in the peacefullness of cemeteries.

All these people have names. All these people had a purpose. They were loved. They were hated. They were old. They were young. They all served their country. They had likes and dislikes. They had lives. And I think we all too often forget that. A cemetery can be creepy, but strangly comforting.

I've never been to a cemetery to visit a loved one. I've never stood by a grave and looked at the headstone with the feeling of "I knew you" but I know that I know people who have done that. I know its sad and slightly strange. At least at first. I've never been scared in a cemetery - just at peace with a big sigh to release all the tensions in life.