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]

Phoenix, Arizona

The First Shall be Last, and The Last First:  A famous Jew would celebrate his birthday today if he were still alive. Wait! He is still alive. His followers, not including the A-listers here, constitute the largest religion in the world with over two billion followers. He was called Jesus of Nazareth. Christians celebrate him as the great alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He came as "the great I am," but he humbled himself to serve "the least of these." Beth Israel Memorial Cemetery. [2019]

Benson, Arizona

Give Me That Old-Time Technology:  In terms of design, the wallkie-talkie (a World War II technology) seems like the real ancestor of today's cell phones. The headstone on which it is mounted appears to be a piece of pegmatite. High Street Cemetery. [2018]

Quartzsite, Arizona

Free-Range Figurines:  August was the month of free-range figurines. Truth be told, though: None of the figurines were really free-range. They were just symbols of free-range spirits. Now, to end the month, we have something that truly is free-range! But, he is full of life and not a figurine. Hi Jolly Cemetery. [2015]

Kingman, Arizona

Free-Range Figurines:  Someone has chosen an elephant calf to represent the spirit. Like dogs, elephants are loyal. They are also symbols of good luck, especially in Asia. But, is this an Asian elephant or an African elephant? The ears are the give-away. Mountain View Cemetery. [2010]

Bisbee, Arizona

Voices from the Land of the Living ~ Third Person Singular Subjective Case:  "She Is Now Clothed in Her Heavenly Body. A Radiant Being Blessing Us Always With Her Love. We Look Forward to the Day We Play Again." Memory Gardens Cemetery. [2018]

Casa Grande, Arizona

Voices from the Land of the Living ~ First Person Plural Subjective Case:  "Not a day goes by that we don't think of you. You are always in our hearts." Mountain View Cemetery. [2018]

Benson, Arizona

Bequeathed to the Living ~ Parting Advice:  "If you can read this, fight!" So sayeth Mr Mac. High Street Cemetery. [2018]

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]

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]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Left: "M.E. Kellogg, Died a natural death, 1882." In other words, he didn't die with his boots on. Right: "Dunlop, one of a band of train robbers, attempted to rob an express car which Milton guarded. He was critically wounded and his friends left him to die. He was found and brought to Tombstone, where he lived long enough to inform on his friends." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. So, stop pining for the good old days! They really weren't that good. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  John Heath: "Taken from county jail and lynched by Bisbee mob in Tombstone, February 22, 1884. He was called the leader of the five men who were legally hanged and was said to have planned the robbery. He was hanged from a telegraph pole a short distance west of the Court House." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Delta William, 1881, suicide. "Colored proprietress of a lodging house on Toughnut Street. Suicide by taking arsenic." She is one of the few women whose graves are marked at Boothill. Another one, however, died of the same cause, suicide, in the same year: Mrs. Pring. She also lived on Toughnut Street. So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. And, right there is enough material for a good short story. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Will DeLoge, Killed Playing Cards, 1883. We know nothing about his life, and only two things about his death: the year he died and the way he died. Most memorials at Boothill are opposite the norm. In most cemeteries, we are told something about the life and nothing about the death, except the year. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  These are the names immortalized by the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." The shoot-out was between the law and the outlaws. Buried here are the Outlaws. "Murdered on the streets of Tombstone, 1881. Tragic results of the O.K. Corral battle, which took place between the Earp Brothers with "Doc" Holiday and the cowboys. Three men were killed and three were wounded." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. They are celebrities today thanks to the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  The most famous epitaph at Boothill: Here Lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs From A 44, No Les, No Moore. "Moore was a Wells Fargo agent at Naco and had a dispute with a man over a package. Both died." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. Here's what the marker looks like today. [1987]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Thanks to restoration efforts at Boothill, most graves are now marked with wooden boards. Left: Joseph Ziegler, Murdered, 1882. "Ziegler, age 27, was short one night through the left breast and lived only a few minutes. He and Ed Williams, who shot him, were miners and had been quarreling while working that day. The murder took place behind the old ice house, near the corner of Toughnut and Fifth Streets." Right: Here lies George Johnson, Hanged by Mistake, 1882. "Johnson, innocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consquences." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. See what a difference three decades has made by comparing the graves then and now. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  There are more than 250 graves in Boothill Graveyard. None of the markers are of stone: Ironic only because the town (see it?) is named Tombstone. Most of those buried at Boothill died with their boots on: So, not ironic is the name of the cemetery. True to classic cemetery location theory, the graveyard is located on a hill outside of town. It is now open as a tourist attraction. Have you ever heard of anyone buried here? [2018]

Tucson, Arizona

Choreographically Yours:  Looks like she's hung up her ballet slippers for the last time. Judging from the cross, she is spending eternity with the master choreographer: Jesus, the ultimate Lord of the Dance. And, with Him, she now dances in the moon, and the stars, and the sun. Lawn Palms Cemetery. [2018]

Chloride, Arizona

Across the Last Divide via RV:  Right age and right environment to be snow birds, they are, though the ghost town of Chloride is an odd place to spend your twilight years. This RV looks big enough to sustain habitation year around. Do you have the geographic vocabulary to identify the physical features in the area where it is parked? Chloride Cemetery. [2009]