One of the things I've noticed during my visits to many graveyards is that there is a different flavor to those who fall under the heading of "Memorial Park." Many of them feel like parks and not cemeteries at all, which seems strange to me. There are almost always immaculately manicured lawns with few headstones sticking up out of the grass. There are plenty of rules about what can or cannot be placed on grave sites, which are usually posted on neatly printed signs placed along the paths that meander throughout the graves. I can understand wanting to comfort the living when they are visiting their deceased loved ones. Making a graveyard feel like a golfer's dream is something else entirely. I'm just saying...
Several relatives of my maternal lineage are buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Everett, WA. It has immaculate lawns, plenty of flowers and paths and a lovely memorial to those who have fallen in service to our country. My relatives are buried in this section. I snapped a shot of the memorial, as well as each of their gravestones, leaving offerings and prayers for them. After visiting them for a while I wandered toward the back of the park, which felt entirely different.
The headstones stand tall above lush grass. They are ornate, mostly memorials of the recent dead, many of them made of polished marble that gleam in the sunlight. I snapped a few of them as well, because they felt so out of place in this neat and tidy park setting. My favorite picture is one of a bench beneath a giant tree. The bench is inscribed with "Have a Sunshine Day!' It makes me smile every time I see it.
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