i remembered i keep forgetting

i was browsing through my usual blogs, and some incredible photography that Amber Nichole shared reminded me of something i keep meaning to mention. but i'm always in the car when i am reminded of this. by the time i get home, after battling 5pm traffic, i've forgotten. again.

anyway. before i get off on a tangent & forget yet again.

i drive by two cemeteries on my way home from work. but they make me sad. not for the reason you would think though. i don't understand something about the cemeteries in Florida -- or in the area of it where i live, at least.

back in Connecticut, the cemeteries -- even the really old ones -- are so peaceful. they are surrounded by stone walls or wrought iron fences. there are little paved pathways. and towering trees. even if it is located on a busy street, once you're inside, you are isolated from the noise & frantic pace of the world outside. everything is so... tranquil. serene. beautiful, in a quiet way. truly a place where loved ones are laid to rest.

here in Florida, though, the cemeteries are little more than empty lots with occasional headstones. there are no trees. the grass is straggly with big empty patches where the grass no longer grows. not a single walkway or even a wall. nothing to separate the grieving or the visitor from the cars flying by. there is no sense of rest. no quiet. no solitude. it's exposed. and ugly. it seems careless. forlorn. lonely.

every time i drive by, it makes me feel sad. almost like these plots of land were an afterthought, nothing more than a half-hearted obligation. just one more thing i can't get used to, even after five years. seeing Amber Nichole's photos reminded me of how a place of final rest should look & i wonder why that seems to be unimportant here.