Taphophilia.(dot) Com - A Day in the Life: Remembering is true spirit of Memorial Day

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A Day in the Life: Remembering is true spirit of Memorial Day

Written by DeadGirl
Saturday, 22 May 2004
May 19, 2004 By Sherry Wachtler Have you been to a cemetery lately? Not many people have. Somehow, we've gotten away from it, especially on the day set aside to do just that, Memorial Day. It's easier to sleep in, go shopping, and when we need to get much-needed yard work done, it just doesn't seem like there's enough time to get to the cemetery. Surprisingly, this day wasn't set aside in the year to celebrate the beginning of summer or the ending of school. It's a day to honor our dead and especially, honor our war dead. With everything going on in the world today, it seems like the right time to go to a loved one's grave whether or not they served in the military service. It seems like the right time to place a wreath, a flower or a flag on their grave. And it seems like the right time to say thanks. It may not be as much fun as a softball game, a picnic or just sleeping in. But then, on the other hand, if your favorite cemetery is within a 50-mile radius of your home, it wouldn't take as long as a softball game or a picnic. Memorial Day is May 30, celebrated this year on Monday, May 31. Not only is the cemetery a beautiful place to visit this time of the year, but some of the dearest people in our lives are there. Not only the ones in our family plots, but you're bound to see old friends decorating their loved ones' graves. People you haven't seen in a long, long time. Oh, the memories you'll talk about the rest of the day. There's a reason so many class reunions and family reunions are centered around Memorial Day. It's not just because it's a long weekend, which doesn't hurt, but it's a time when we remember ALL our family - even if they're no longer with us. It's a good time to go home. If you've ever wondered why people wear those little red paper flowers around Memorial Day, those are poppies made by veterans in Veterans' Homes and Hospitals with proceeds going to Veterans organizations. Memorial Day and poppies, they have always gone together. Jan Hacker and other members of Ralston American Auxiliary Unit 373 spent a recent Friday and Saturday selling poppies at Hy-Vee, and Jan was excited to report that many young parents knew about the time-honored tradition of buying poppies. Sadly, as the population ages, there are fewer and fewer auxiliary members to sell the poppies. On Memorial Day in my hometown of Coin, Iowa, the cemetery is one of the town's most beautiful places with its tree-lined drives, peony bushes in full bloom and flags waving freely in the breeze. Tombstones are carefully decorated with flower arrangements by loving hands. Of course, the problem is every time I visit the Coin Cemetery, I see more graves of younger people. Some are just a few years older than I am. Mercy. So, until I settle in permanently at the cemetery, I will continue to visit every Memorial Day, shed some tears of sadness, then shed tears of joy as I recount some great memories of those loved ones. Then I'll have to say thanks. It's the right thing to do. http://www.ralstonrecorder.com/index.php?u_np=9&u_pg=878&u_sid=1100317

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries