david's cemetery {january 25, 2022}

When I was young, my mom would take my siblings and me to all kinds of places to explore, one of those places being cemeteries. As little kids, visiting a cemetery was a chance to be outside and run around, but it was also a learning experience. Mom taught us to be respectful of the gravesites: “If you run over someone’s grave, he or she will come out and haunt you.” It was a math lesson: Tell me how old this person was when he or she died. It was a lesson in observation: “Look at all the different gravestones. Find one that catches your eye and tell me why you like it.” It was a lesson in learning to be quiet: “What do you hear? Birds chirping, woodpeckers, leaves rustling, the wind blowing? (Typical brother response, "Someone farted.")

T and I took a walk at David’s Cemetery. My parents are buried there and we haven’t visited them for a while. We said hello to Mom and Dad and then walked around the cemetery. I always gravitate to the oldest section of the cemetery. Some of the stones are pieces of art, some are showing their age with the names eroding away, I love to see generations of one family buried together. You don’t see that very often. As we walked, a hawk screeched as it chases its prey against the bright blue winter sky.

Walking in a cemetery and seeing dates from long ago makes me curious about what life was like between the dashes on their tombstone. David’s Cemetery is one of the older cemeteries in the Dayton area. It is located along Mad River Road, which used to be an Indian trail. A lot of familiar names from the Kettering area are buried there. History and legacies.

I'm drawn to graves that speak to a personality, in this case Dayton Flyers fans.
The idea of sharing a celebration with the dead is comforting.

A Civil War soldier...a battle that began in 1860 (162 years ago)

A pretty scallop design on a simple slab contrasted with larger monuments.

Symmetry

Apostrophe misuse etched for eternity

A golden apple for a teacher. Kathryn Louise Kasper taught at the
Verdun American High School in Verdun, France. Her husband served in the
US Army. What is their story? Did they meet while he was stationed there?

A Cincinnati Bengal fan asking for a little help from heaven.
Bengals are one game away from the Super Bowl...Who Dey!