Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!"  His butterfly seems to be a moth drawn to the light or to the lights of Three River Stadium in Pittsburgh. He might have lived a life cocooned in Steeler culture, and now as free as a butterfly. Mechanicsburg Cemetery. [2014]

Lovington, New Mexico

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!"  He was probably cocooned in a wheel chair for much of his life, just waiting for the day he would fly off as a butterfly. Maybe he lived a hidden promise in that cocoon as he dreamed about riding that motorcycle all over the state of New Mexico. On this headstone, the hidden promise of the cycle seems to be revealed as a butterfly: off soars his spirit. Lovington Cemetery. [2018]

Matheney, West Virginia

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!" Why are there so many butterflies in cemeteries? Because they are the ultimate symbol of freedom (apologies to bald eagles), just as it says on this headstone: ". . . now free as a butterfly, walking hand in hand with Jesus." Two butterflies perhaps double the freedom or perhaps just pay homage to the numeral 2, which accounts for more numbers on this headstone than any of its single-digit competitors. Palm Memorial Gardens. [2019]

Rockford, Ohio

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Coasties:  Maybe you don't think of members of the U.S. Coast Guard as public servants, but you should. They do serve the public. From his memorial, it looks like a job he dreamed about his entire life, and then got to experience it: short but fulfilling life. Riverside Cemetery. [2018]

Andalusia, Alabama

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Postal Workers:  Please, please remember that postal workers are loyal public servants. In fact, please remember to give them a thank-you once in a while. You know, the political climate in which they existed for a while turned chilly. Stone Lake Gardens. [2017]

Hurricane, West Virginia

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ School Bus Drivers:  It is so hard for most school districts to find bus drivers, despite the fact that there the age cohort from which they are drawn is sizeable. Those that do sign up for the job seem to be particularly devoted to serving the public. Just imagine the responsibility. Just imagine the driving skills. Just imagine the chopped up schedule. Just imagine the requisite psychological armor. Just imagine the kids in the back of the bus (maybe you were one of them)! Valley View Memorial Park. [2017]

Canal Winchester, Ohio

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Teachers:  Most teachers don't have to work for 38 years to draw their pensions, so she must have been a public servant in love with her job and in love with her charges. Given her birth year, it is likely she may have begun teaching with only a 2-year normal-school degree. That means she would have been very young and probably not even 60 when she retired. Union Grove Cemetery. [2014]

Cleveland, Tennessee

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ County Judges:  As a county judge and public servant, he presided over the county court system, which, in Tennessee, meant he was more like a county executive. He held the office for over a decade and a half, a tribute to the respect afforded him by the community. The mystery of the headstone hangs over the family name: What letter of the alphabet is that? Fort Hill Cemetery. [2020]

Wellsville, New York

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Rescue Workers:  Rescue has been added to the responsibilities of many fire departments. And, as a loyal public servant, if you were chosen to be responsible for the Jaws of Life, you and your family would probably want to proclaim it to the world. That seems to be the case here. Woodlawn Cemetery. [2013]

Earlville, New York

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Firefighters:  Being a firefighter is no walk in the park. It's a ride on the engine, Engine No. 7 to be exact. What is even more impressive about this public servant is that he did the job as a volunteer and he did it for life. Wilcox Cemetery. [2017]

Toms River, New Jersey

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Police Officers:  Look at the family name. Do you think he was destined to become a police officer? Actually, among Italian immigrants, his name is fairly common. And even in the Italian language, police are called polizia. The word's origins go back to the Greek root for city, polis. St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery. [2015]

Olive Hill, Kentucky

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Sheriffs:  The sheriff has historically been the chief law enforcement officer at the county level in the United States. While the establishment of police departments changed that in some places, the sheriff remains an office of public trust and high responsibility. JOUAM and Eagle Cemetery. [2017]

Phoenix, Arizona

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Civil Servants:  Civil servants, a subset of public servants, put their education, professional training, and experience to use in serving the general public. For all time, the civil servant buried here will be known as one who was especially firmus et fidelis (steadfast and faithful). Greenwood Cemetery. [2019]

Walla Walla, Washington

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5:  Happy Birthday, Gerard Kremer (a.k.a., Mercator)! This is where your scientific innovations have led: to maps so ubiquitous we find them in cemeteries everywhere. Shall we call this world map the Billy Goat projection or the Donaldson Projection? Mountain View Cemetery. [2019]

Mars Hill, North Carolina

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: The eagle, globe, and anchor constitute the emblem of the US Marine Corps. Mercator's know-how would have come in handy here. This version of the Western Hemisphere needs some high fidelity. Maps need to be semper fidelis to the globe they represent, not sloppy approximations. Mars Hill Cemetery. [2012]

Richmond, Massachusetts

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5:  Why would this couple choose a world map for their headstone? Well before the Mercator Projection, we learned that maps could be manipulated to tell stories and serve our own interests. How does a Eurocentric map projection serve the interests of this couple? Richmond Center Cemetery. [2019]

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: The ironic thing about a world globe is that it never allows you to see the world as a whole. You see only a hemisphere at a time. Enter Mercator: He came up with a system for displaying the round earth on flat paper, making it possible to cut and flatten the entire terrestrial surface. Rose Hill Cemetery. [2020]

Winchester, Kentucky

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: Mercator, a Flemish geographer, was born on this date in 1512. He was skilled at building globes but made his mark on history with his Mercator Projection, the grandfather of all modern world maps. Mercator's scientific mind modernized the world of mapmaking.  Since then, globes and maps have become symbolic of what goes on in classrooms everywhere. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]

Vineland, New Jersey

National Capitals on American Soil ~ Nicosia:  Between 1973 and 1989, there were two divided national capitals in the world. One was Berlin, but the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The other one was Nicosia, which was divided in 1973. Nicosia is the capital city of what two defacto countries today? The Republic of Cyprus (capital = Nicosia) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (capital = North Nicosia). In between is a U.N.-controlled buffer zone. Nicosia is now the last divided capital on earth. If you want to learn something more about the city, consult Geographically Yours. Siloam Cemetery. [2017]

Grand Blanc, Michigan

National Capitals on American Soil ~ Berlin:  Unlike Madrid, Paris, and London, Berlin never got a chance to be a dominant world city. (Not that it didn't try!) In fact, Berlin's problem was that there was no Germany to compete with maritime Europe when global empire building was at its height. Berlin was the capital city of what county when London lost its thirteen colonies in North America? Prussia. How about when World War I took place? German Empire. How about after the Iron Curtain descended across Europe? East Germany. How about after the Iron Curtain disintegrated? Germany. It is a convoluted political history. If you want to learn something more about the city, consult Geographically Yours. Evergreen Cemetery. [2018]

Panama City, Florida

National Capitals on American Soil ~ Paris:  In the late 1600s and early 1700s, Paris' chief rival was Amsterdam, not London, which was still a blip on the map of the future. When it came to building an overseas empire, however, Paris duked it out with London and both exceeded expectations. What was the capital of France when the British lost their hold on North America (thanks to the French)? If you said Paris, you would be right. It has always been the capital of France. In fact, it was the nucleus around which France was assembled. If you want to learn something more about the city, consult Geographically Yours. Forest Lawn Cemetery. [2018]

Bernalillo, New Mexico

National Capitals on American Soil ~ Madrid:  In the 1500s, London was simply a blip on the map of the future. With the circumnavigation of the world by the Magellan expedition, the capital of Spain became numero uno among world cities. What was the imperial capital when the Magellan expedition returned to Spain? If you said Madrid, you would be wrong. It was Toledo. It wasn't long, though, until Madrid took on that role. It has been the capital of Spain since 1561. If you want to learn something more about the city, consult Geographically Yours. Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery. [2017]

Albemarle, North Carolina

National Capitals on American Soil ~ London:  London shares the honor of highest ranked global city with New York. London is the capital of what country? If you said England, you would be wrong. England does not have a capital (even though Wales and Scotland do). If you said the United Kingdom, you would be right. If you want to learn something more about the city, consult Geographically Yours. Fairview Memorial Park. [2019]

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

In the Arms of Angels:  Their (but really her) epitaph reads: "Girlfriends are family we choose for ourselves." These two angels are a little different from the others we have seen in the past few days, though. One appears to be female, the other male. And, they are the first angels we have seen without hearts. Perhaps it would be better if we had an angelologist to help us with this interpretation rather than an epigrapher, since the latter specializes in deciphering writing (graphein) upon (epi) the stone. Calvary Cemetery. [2019]

Wayne, Michigan

In the Arms of Angels:  Her epitaph reads: "God's Resting Angel." That epitaph is almost an epithet in the purest meaning of the word: a phrase that stands in for the person's name, to wit, something put (tithenai) in addition to or upon (epi) a name. In other words, you can just call her "God's Resting Angel" without using her name. How much resting do you think she did when she was alive? Westlawn Cemetery. [2018]

Kennewick, Washington

In the Arms of Angels:  Two young souls are embraced by by two angels and backed up by an epitaph that serves as an epilogue, words (logos) spoken after or upon (epi) the end of a play. "So go and run free with the angels . . . So go and run free with the angels." Riverview Heights Cemetery. [2019]

Mattoon, Illinois

In the Arms of Angels:  Enjoy the hug Andrea. Your soul, represented here by a heart, has been lifted above the earth, but your epitaph remains behind for generations of earthlings to read. It's an epic epitaph: epic (from Greek epos, meaning word) in the sense of "beyond the ordinary." You were so BELOVED, it was epic. Rest Haven Memorial Gardens. [2017]

Burrillville, Rhode Island

In the Arms of Angels:  His epitaph reads: "In the Arms of the Angels." These are the words that were left by his survivors over (epi) his tomb (taphos). Enjoy the angelic hug Michael: Enjoy it as an introduction to the posts for the rest of this week. St. Patrick's Cemetery. [2019]

Bernalillo, New Mexico

Only the Good Die Young:  Sunset came during the Advent season. While other younglings were preparing for the holiday, he was following the light of Jesus to heaven. He was only 16. He was buried in the appropriately named: Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery. [2017]

Twin Falls, Idaho

Only the Good Die Young: He died at 19, as a king, no less. Now, his visage stares at us across time, giving us the only clue we have to what he was as a human being. Twin Falls Cemetery. [2020]

Rapid City, South Dakota

Only the Good Die Young:  He died in 1980 when he was only 15, but flowers are still being brought to the grave. What happened to him is every parent's nightmare: loosing a son or daughter before they have even a small chance to fulfill the promises of adulthood. At least, "surely now heaven is brighter." Calvary Cemetery. [2019]

Summerville, South Carolina

Only the Good Die Young: She barely completed two decades on earth. She should have completed at least eight. You know how much her family still misses her every day. Look at the year she died and the year this picture was taken [in brackets at the end of each caption]. Someone is still decorating the grave. Maybe time doesn't heal all wounds. Summerville Cemetery. [2012]

Fort Collins, Colorado

Only the Good Die Young:  His epitaph reads: "Only the Good Die Young." The good in his heart is the subject of loving scrolls from his mother and sister, who probably also authored the one on his love for music. Play on Roger: Play on as an introduction to the posts for the rest of this week. Rest Haven Memory Gardens. [2019]

Sissonville, West Virginia

Instead of a Dash – A Pet:  What would normally be a dash between dates is a furball. The etching says little about how "our little buddy" lived his dash, but it says a lot about how his masters lived theirs, at least for thirteen years of their lives. Floral Hills Pet Cemetery. [2017]

Thomasville, North Carolina

Instead of a Dash – A Cross:  What would normally be a dash between dates is the United Methodist Church's cross and flame. It looks like he let two things fill his life: first, the military; second, the church. Five lines total: three are devoted to military service. Fair Grove UMC Cemetery. [2013]

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Instead of a Dash – A Bird:  What would normally be a dash between dates is a hummingbird. He has probably just been nectaring from the forget-me-not above his head. What tales is our feathered friend telling you about such a "loving mother"? All tombstone icons have stories to tell of those interred. Beal Memorial Cemetery. [2017]