Artist: Fredrik Raddum
Many years ago I was heavily involved in politics and I used to go to meetings which meant I spent a lot of time with people who usually had one big issue they were promoting.
I gave up on supporting any group the day I tried to introduce the topic about Racism in our communities and some of the Enviros ( environmentalists ) kind of patted me on the head and said, that was a ‘divisive issue’ that might put people off. Therefore ” WE ” needed to come together on an issue that would help ” all of us ” – that issue was of course their issue and they really expected that people who were dealing with Racism and all of it’s ugliness would set that aside to help them get the word out to recycle and give up cars in favor of Electric Bicycles.
The big thing that the Enviros at this particular meeting were pushing for making people aware of their Carbon Footprint and how to reduce it. I actually thought that was a good idea. I still do. However, they looked me in the face and said they weren’t interested in any issue concerning communities of color so nope, I did not hop on their bandwagon. I didn’t even run along side it and throw confetti.
As you are aware, in any group there is always one ( sometimes more ), that singleperson that is always going to push things one step beyond the point that is reasonable and the one guy in this group was determined to not leave a single trace of himself behind.
When we took a break I told him about these pictures NASA had released where they believed they had found buried pyramid sites. There were even satellite pictures of ancient roads where it is believed that the workers had traveled on with their materials. I was curious what he thought of that.
” They destroyed the Earth to make those.”
So I asked him, it would have been better if the Pyramids- any pyramid anywhere on Earth should never have been constructed.
He stuck to his guns. ” That’s right. ”
A satellite image shows a field of what may be buried pyramid sites in Egypt.
2011
At the end of that meeting my Pyramid Hating Friend cornered me asked me what the Funeral Industry was going to improve their practices because “you guys” are poisoning and polluting the Earth.
” So you’re asking me how can we dispose of a body so that it’s as if it never existed?”
I tapped my front tooth- which is something I do when I am thinking really hard. ” Well, My Pyramid Hating Friend ( not his real name of course ) that’s a weird question. You’re asking me how to get rid of a body so that it leaves no trace of itself behind. You do know that the only people who ask that kind of questions are Writers and Serial Killers or Psychopaths. And I know you’re not a writer- ”
” I’m serious Anita. ”
I took a step back and tried to look nervous and scared. Then I scuttled away as if he were Jack the Ripper himself and called back to him, ” Me too. ” I told him. ” Me too. ”
RDP Wednesday: Romanticise
I belong to a few on- line Cemetery Explorer’s groups because I like the pictures and I like to keep a list of cemetery names because sometimes I like to use those names for cities in the stories a I write about at Halloween.
You could say it’s an inside joke.
But as I explore with these on- line groups I flashback on the days when Goth was an emerging trend and Gary Oldman’s Dracula added touch of beauty and passion to the world of the living dead and all of the sudden some people decided that Death and Cemeteries are beautiful places that they were sure would give them a sense of peace, belonging and excitement.
Because of the interest in the supernatural that I think was inspired by the movies and music at the time, Cemetery Exploration became a trend. The internet was on the verge of taking over the world, so if you wanted the cemetery experience, you had to get out there and do the leg work. So sure, those feelings I mentioned were valid. Reading about these places is way different then being there and bonding with the environment itself.
Photo A.M. Moscoso St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 New Orleans, LA
There were times when I was strolling around the grounds of the Cemetery I worked at and sometimes I ran into people who would ask me questions after seeing my name badge on my lapel.
They were good, questions, honest questions, challenging questions and I didn’t mind answering them.
The big question?
What did I feel when I was working, they would ask.
Photo A.M Moscoso Woodbine Cemetery Puyallup Washington USA
I always told the truth, it wasn’t a beautiful or sexy truth.
I said that after the graveside service was over and the family and friends were gone, after the ” Cemetery Engineers ” finished their work, I would stand there and know that I was standing on the loneliest, saddest place in the world.
I said that I thought the wish that the dead would rest in peace wasn’t based on the fear that they would rise from the grave and haunt the living.
I said I thought that the living hoped against hope that the dead would rest in peace because there was no way you could comfort them if they weren’t.
Photo by Harrison Haines on Pexels.com
Of course, I was asked a lot about ghosts and though I have seen some weird things in my days, I never saw ghosts at the Cemetery. Sometimes I would say this to one person who would look at me a little skeptically and at other times, if there was more then one person there they would give that look to each other and then sort of heave a sigh and start looking for a way to politely end this non-fruitful part of our conversation but then…
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Evergreen Washelli- Seattle Washington
Sometimes, I confessed, when I was alone with the Dead in the embalming room- some were already in their caskets, some were waiting to be laid to rest in them and sometimes this feeling, would sometimes work it’s way into my head.
The people that the Dead used to be were gone- I’ll leave it to the people who knew them or you, Dear Reader, to decide where they went. So that feeling wasn’t coming from them.
What I felt was that something was room with me, with the Dead and it rested on their faces and sometimes it stood behind my shoulder and whispered words into my ear that I couldn’t quite hear.
I never asked who was there, I never tried to figure out what it was saying.
I think one day there will be a time for me to find out.
As we all do.
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Evergreen Washelli
Seattle, Washington USA
Inspired By The Daily Prompt: What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?
Still Life with Wine and Fruit
Léon Bonvin1863
They are
a little bitter, somewhat sweet
brittle, fragile and delicate
they crumble like dust, touched by a single drop of rain
on my tongue.
So delicious, so clever, how sublime
how they worked together
to become one
as they dance around my mouth in perfect time.
What is this you ask
this delectable light feast
that I ecstatically and unabashedly enjoy?
It isn’t a fruit, it isn’t a sweet, it isn’t beef or chicken or wine.
They are three little words that I do savor with glee
and those three little words are,
” I told you . ”
Artist Unknown
