Headstones

My Great Aunt died last Sunday. (TIA for the sympathies.) The wake and funeral were this past Saturday in Dodgeville. While at the cemetary, I looked down at a headstone near where my Great Aunt was to be buried. Here was a guy born in 1861, who died in 1940. It makes you think... When was the last time anyone visited his grave site? When was the last time anyone even thought of this guy? I told myself to be sure to remember his name and dates, (didn't have paper and pen). I'm pretty sure his name was Samuel Davey. (My sincerest apologies to him and his memory if I am remembering incorrectly.)

Do you believe in an afterlife? Was this guy sitting somewhere just lamenting that no one has thought about him in the last 10 years, when all of a sudden - BAM?!?

It's just kinda weird. Really makes you start to think about your impact, (or lack thereof), on this planet? But then, depending on your views of the afterlife, perhaps "impact on this planet" isn't the point of our lives?

All that aside, I think that this is a great opportunity to help keep people's memories alive. Next time you have occasion to be at a cemetary, take a moment at someone else's headstone. I guess it's like making the best of a bad situation.

Or maybe I'm just being morbid.