Platteville, Colorado

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  With a universally popular (though slightly modified) bedtime prayer, a month of "perpendicular pronouns" comes to an end. If you still haven't figured out the meaning of perpendicular pronouns, think about "I." When people walk the earth, they are perpendicular to the surface. However, when they lie beneath the sod, they're not so perpendicular anymore. From their graves, though, their voices can still be heard: thanks to their burial memorials. Mizpah Cemetery. [2013]

Springfield, Massachusetts

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I did it my way."  Since the 1960s, the 'My Way' song has become a perennial favorite, so it is probably not surprising to find it showing up in cemeteries all over the United States. Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Robertsdale, Alabama

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I have never had it so good." Common are the assertions that the departed are in a better place. Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery. [2017]

Jefferson City, Missouri

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I was watching from a window in heaven. You seem so close yet so far. I could see teardrops falling that you shed for me. I saw you crying, calling out my name. I wanted to hold you, tell you I'm OK. No tears will fall in heaven. Teardrops aren't welcome up here. No tears will fall in heaven. There's no sorrow, there's no pain. God wiped my tears away." Hawthorn Memorial Garden. [2015]

South Windsor, Connecticut

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." Those are the words of Booker T. Washington (who overcame many obstacles), but they have been adopted by a young man (or one of his survivors) who chose them to summarize his life on earth, along with these words: "Yes, I overcame and life was great! BOOYAH!" Wapping Cemetery. [2009]

Duncannon, Pennsylvania

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "With all my tattoos I know I scared people, but that's how I am. With all my piercings that's how I am. With my belt between my legs that's how people know who I am. I am with my color hair that's how I stand out. With my outfits people look at me weird but that's how I stand out one more time. Just say with me that's just how I am." Duncannon Cemetery. [2014]

Virginia City, Nevada

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "In perfect health I left my home. Not thinking that my race was run. But as flowers grow, so they decay. And sudden death snatched me away." He was only 32 years old. Virginia City Cemetery. [2001]

Quartzsite, Arizona

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I flew through the clouds as a skydiver, and explored the bottom of the sea. I traveled the land in an old Dodge van. But the only thing I never found . . . . was me." Hi Jolly Cemetery. [2015]

Jackson, Mississippi

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I am alone, myself in my own keeping, until the end. I, in my own grave sleeping, shall no longer hear your voice or see your face. Yet, shall I hear, yet see. In whatever place while my soul presses to new and lonely birth, you shall I hear, shall see, though you walk the earth." Cedar Lawn Cemetery. [2018]

Appleton, Alabama

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I'm Free. Don't grieve for me for now I'm free. I'm following the path God has laid you see. I took His hand when I heard Him call, I turned my back and left it all. . . . Lift up your hearts and peace to thee. God wanted me now. He set me free!" Weaver Cemetery. [2017]

Bevis, Ohio

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I pray that I may live to fish . . . until my dying day. and when it comes to my last cast, I then most humbly pray: When in the Lord's great landing net and peacefully asleep that in His mercy I be judged big enough to keep." Cedar Grove Cemetery. [2010]

Austin, Texas

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I am thankful to the Lord." And, so, her soul was saved, and "her spirit will live on forever in out hearts and minds." Evergreen Cemetery. [2015]

Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one, I'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. I'd like to leave an echo of whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and bright and sunny days. I'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun of happy memories that I leave when my life is done." Oak Ridge Cemetery. [2010]

Tucson, Arizona

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "All that I am is in my children." It looks like she had six of them. Sweet Dreams Mom! All Faiths Cemetery. [2018]

El Dorado, Arkansas

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I am persuaded that nothing visible or invisible can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus." What is your surmise: mother and daughter? Arlington Cemetery. [2018]

Midland, Texas

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silver wings. Put out my hand, and touched the face of God." The words are from a poem written by John Magee, a Royal Canadian fighter pilot in World War II. Fairview Cemetery. [2018]

La Plata, Maryland

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I won't be far away for life goes on so if you need me call and I will come. And, if you listen with your heart, you'll hear all my love around you soft and clear." Sacred Heart Cemetery. [2017]

Robertsdale, Alabama

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "If we never meet again this side of heaven . . . I will meet you on that beautiful shore." Do you think he might have been a Johnny Cash fan? Check out the boots and hat, too. Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery. [2017]

Camden, Delaware

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I needed the quiet, so he drew me aside, into the shadows where we could confide. Away from the bustle where all the day long, I hurried and worried when active and strong. . . . I needed the quiet. No prison my bed. But a beautiful valley of blessings instead, a place to grow richer in Jesus to hide. I needed the quiet so he drew me aside." Sharon Hills Odd Fellows Cemetery. [2015]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I'm Gone."  There is no period after "gone," so please finish the sentence for him. Think of it as a rebus. Rebus = a puzzle in which words are replaced by pictures. Cedar Rest Cemetery. [2014]

Louisville, Kentucky

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I Would Rather Have Thirty Minutes of Wonderful, Than A Lifetime of Nothing Special." But, 30 minutes is so, so short.  Evergreen Cemetery. [2016]

Lancaster, Ohio

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I Did It My Way." Can't you just hear the Chairman of the Board: "I've lived a life that's full, I've traveled each and every highway, But more, much more than this: I did it my way." Maple Grove Cemetery. [2016]

Fowl River, Alabama

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I Love Anything That is Fast, Loud And Has Big Wheels!" Add another exclamation point and get ready for a month of "perpendicular pronouns"! St. Rose of Lima Church Cemetery. [2017]