Xenia, Ohio

Crossing Time:  Only five hours and fifteen minutes left in 2014. But in Tokyo, Delhi, and Monrovia, 2015 is already here. It takes a full 24 hours to upload the new year. The operating system of the universe might be slow, but it sure is reliable. Woodland Cemetery. [2013]

Adairsville, Georgia

Crossing Time:  In a few days, we'll all be crossing off another year. In a few years, we'll all be crossing time in a different way. Let's hope everyone has spent the past year planting a few seeds that will bear fruit in the years ahead. Here, though, the planter has become the planted. It happens to the best of us. Eastview Cemetery. [2013]

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Christmas Comes to the Graveyard:  In military service, it's all about conforming to standards. It's no different in military graveyards. Even Christmas wreaths are standard-issue evergreen circles bedecked by standard-issue red ribbons. Chattanooga National Cemetery. [2013]

Frederick, Maryland

Christmas Comes to the Graveyard. . .  just like Christmas used to come to the Cook farm in rural Frederick County, Maryland. In the farmhouse (see it?), a wreath of presents would encircle the base of the Christmas tree. Among them, always, would be some Old Spice. Today, in the post-departum world, the tradition continues, now under the watchful eye of a guardian snowman. Mount Olivet Cemetery. [2014]

Midway, Georgia

Christmas Comes to the Graveyard:  Advent wreaths point to the coming birth, or advent, of Jesus. Wreaths have no beginning and no end; they are a symbol of eternity. Hence, they are a perfect symbol for cemeteries. First Presbyterian Church Cemetery. [2012]

Chloride, Arizona

Chloride Cemetery:  Chronology reconstructed from grave-top evidence: graduated from high school at age 18, spent twenty years in the U.S. Coast Guard, retired in 1976, lived twenty four more years at least part of which must have been in the Arizona desert near Chloride, died in 2000 at age 61. What's so geographically jarring about this propeller? You don't expect to find a Coastie so far from the coast. [2009]

Chloride, Arizona

Chloride Cemetery:  Headstone design follows waves of popular preference. Here, though, the graphic elements are decidedly regional, not national. Do you get a sense of Chloride's place in the world just by looking at these cowboy silhouettes? [2009]

Chloride, Arizona

Chloride Cemetery:  Mining towns come and go, and that's exactly what happened to Chloride. The camp was founded in the 1860s for the sole purpose of mining silver. Other minerals followed, but fortunes sank, and Chloride became a ghost town. Then came the tourists, snowbirds, and retirees to revitalize the area. All eras of its history are found in the cemetery which is well over a century old. See the mines on the hillside? [2009]

South Wales, New York

Here's to Non-Conformists Everywhere!  For the conformists: granite (maybe marble), vertical (maybe horizontal). For the non-conformists: field stone (reminder of home). South Wales Cemetery. [2013]

Bloomfield, New Mexico

Here's to Non-Conformists Everywhere!  When life presents us with limited options, how many times do we want to just scream: "None of the above!"  As you get ready to check out of hotel Earth, what kind of stone slab would you like to mark your exit route? Here is someone who just screamed: "None of the above!" Bloomfield Cemetery. [2013]

Thompson Springs, Utah

Here's to Non-Conformists Everywhere!  Where's he gone? "He's gone off to cast a Coachman fly, while Margie's spirit, on the breeze dances by." No granite or marble here, just a solid piece of the high desert. To him, a solid piece of home, with the Book Cliffs in the background. Thompson Springs Cemetery. [2013]

Suffolk, Virginia

Dance is Sacred:  "Dance is sacred. It is a prayer for the future, a remembrance of the past and a joyful exclamation of thanks for the present." So sayeth Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. So, that's why we dance at weddings! Now, read a final wish for the world and count up the number of souls still dancing because they have been given the gift of life by a generous stranger. Liberty Spring Christian Church Cemetery. [2012]

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Dance is Sacred:  "To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful." So sayeth Agnes de Mille. And, where else can you be more out of yourself than in heaven? Dancing, of course. Mt. Olivet Cemetery. [2014]

Decatur, Georgia

Dance is Sacred:  "Dance is the hidden language of the soul." So sayeth Martha Graham. Now, raise your eyes to the heavens! There, you might see this kinetic duo dancing in the clouds. Decatur Cemetery. [2014]