Putting the 'fun' in funeral

I stopped at Mt. Pleasant cemetery a few days ago to find where an old old acquaintance was buried. His funeral was nearly 11 years ago, and I couldn't even remember which cemetery he's in, much less where he was. Looking for a specific person in Mt. Pleasant is like looking for a an original simile in a world full of aspiring writers.

Finally tracking down his grave was totally anticlimactic. I guess that sounds ridiculous, but somehow I hoped for more. It was a very tasteful memorial; a simple stone with a small plaque attached with his name, dates and a poem called "High Hopes." But a poem, a stone and a few flowers just don't seem to cut it when that's all that's left of a entire person you knew. I found myself thinking "is this it?" while also knowing that you can't do much more to capture a person's spirit, to convey what they were like, how "alive" they were, as hackneyed as that sounds. A cold stone in a quiet yard seems totally inadequate and unfair when you know that, beneath your feet, is someone who was once a real live person.

At least it's somewhat personal and reflective though, as opposed to hundreds of other stones that only have a last name, or name and dates. Maybe these people couldn't be bothered saying anything, or had nothing to say. But I admire the people who at least had the courage to find some humour in their situation.

"Life is a jest and all things show it, I thought it once and now I know it." - Keats

"Keep off the grass." - Peter Ustinov

"Go away. I'm asleep." - Joan Hackett (actress)

"I told you I was sick." Anonymous in Georgia

One not-so-funny one I found wonderfully poignant and reflective is on the grave of a soldier whose name escapes me, who died as a POW at Hellfire Pass in Thailand. It reads "He marks not that you won or lost, but how you played the game."

I'd like to steal that one, but he beat me to it. So, I'm going to stake my claim to this one now:

"If you were dead, you'd be home by now."

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that nobody with a similiar idea dies before me. And if you steal my idea, I'll kill you.