Resting Peacefully, Surrounded By Beauty

Without question, the crazy weather we had all spring has brought us one of the most spectacular seasons of summer flowers I can remember.

The roses were magnificent, and they are now being replaced by lilies that are stretching out tall and proud toward the sun, each stem home to so many blooms. Everywhere you look, the flora is lush and gorgeous.

Last Monday, as I was driving on Stoddard's Wharf Road, it was the lilies that first caught my eye as I passed the little cemetery at the intersection with Avery Hill Road. I turned around and pulled in, and as I looked around I was amazed at the beauty of the plantings at so many graves.

It's not just flowers. It is actual landscaping, painstakingly maintained. There are shrubs and bushes and flags and seashells and keepsakes, and all are beautifully maintained. Many of the stones are deeply personalized, some even with etched or embedded photographs. 

There is a lot of love in this resting place.

Of all the plots I stopped at, though, my favorite had to be that of William A. Cross. Nestled up along the Korean war veteran badge, the American flag and a couple of fake flowers was a six-pack of Heineken in cans.

Minus one.

Here's to you, Mr. Cross, and all those other well-loved folks resting peacefully.