Posts

Showing posts from February, 2012

I'm a Graveyard Runner

            It was my dad who taught me the difference.  A graveyard is next to a church; a cemetery is separate.  My dad also taught me that you could learn a lot from wandering amongst headstones.   Being from New England, we had lots of old cemeteries to wander.  We would find humor as well as poignant, pithy, and profound quotes.              It would be a game for us to find the oldest headstone, or where the cemetery kept the “spoils”.   You see, when a grave is dug, and the hole filled back in after the casket is placed, there is always some soil left over.  This is referred to as the “spoils”.   It is usually piled up in some remote corner.  Every active cemetery has a place, and it’s not always easy to find.  I don’t like to think of the irony, but that spoil soil sure did make my dad’s tomato plants grow quite nicely.             Now, my dad and I still go to graveyards, but unfortunately, I’m the only one who gets to return home again.             I run in graveyards freque