Seymour, Indiana

Give Me That Old-Time Technology:  Remember how large the first generation of computer screens were? No better than a blackboard for displaying information, said some. Now, blackboards are teaching tools of the past, and computer screen have become smaller, flatter, and so portable. Don't you love this computer teacher's name? Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Maxville, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  Young and in love: Isn't that when we are all at the top of our game? This couple has done well to choose a portrait that flatters them with fleeting surrealism in black and white. Woodlawn Cemetery. [2018]

Batesville, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  It is a full-body portrait, but he does not stand alone. He stands, for all eternity, with his John Deere. In fact, he has everything he needs to go on plowing those fields for as long as it takes. Huntersville Cemetery. [2013]

Seymour, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  Here's a couple that managed to fit a portrait onto a flat marker, a fairly rare arrangement. Their progeny should consider themselves luckey [sic] to be able to see what their ancestors looked like. Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Seymour, Indiana

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  What is the name of the letter that begins the family name Zagar? Your answer is probably 'Zee.' But, only Americans call it that. To most of the rest of the world (or, at least the English-speaking world), it is called 'Zed.' If you think of its Greek name, Zed will make sense to you. Remember zeta? The Zagars were originally sawyers in Slovenia. Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Greensburg, Indiana

Voices from the Land of the Living ~ First Person Plural Subjective Case:  "We had it all." St. Mary's Cemetery. [2014]

Medora, Indiana

January is for Palindromes:  Rarely does a tombstone list the cause of death, but here is an exception. He was "killed by the Gars" in 1881, the only palindromal year of the 19th century.  Wouldn't you like to know the story behind that one? Maybe clans feuding, and maybe the gang warfare we have today on American streets isn't that alien to American culture. Shewmaker Cemetery. [2017]

Batesville, Indiana

January is for Palindromes:  Since they were married in a palindromal year, she must be able to read him forwards and backwards, and he must be able to read her forwards and backwards, too. Special powers go with special numbers. St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. [2013]

Seymour, Indiana, USA

Christmastide Graveside:  Despite what you might think, the Twelve Days of Christmas aren't the ones leading up to Christmas; they are the twelve days beginning with Christmas. This is the day of the Five Golden Rings. At this grave, though, the rings are red. And, despite what you may think about the poinsettia's red rings, they are not petals, but leaves. Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Greensburg, Indiana

Across the Last Divide via RV:  He retired in 1986 and died in 1993. That gave him and his wife a few years to enjoy the nation's countryside in their RV. A case of escapism, perhaps. Take a look at their children's names and then think how many grandchildren they must have had. Anyone have the story behind "world's youngest judge"? South Park Cemetery. [2014]

Greensburg, Indiana

Nicknames as Markers of Femininity:  Meet Dolly. She must have been "a doll." That would fit the essence of the era when she came of age, the 1950s. In her case, though, the nickname seems to be a familiar contraction of an unfamiliar first name. St. Mary's Cemetery. [2014]

Batesville, Indiana

R is for Riley:  What did the "life of Riley" mean to this couple? Living high on the hog, obviously. But in their case the hog was a Harley. Their motto, now given voice by black granite, will stand forever and will be the envy of many like-minded and free-spirited visitors: "We Lived. We Loved. We Rode." St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. [2013]

Batesville, Indiana

Heaven as the Old Farmstead:  Judging from the mountain in the background, it may not have been the one they owned, but it functions as a reasonable stand-in. Southern Indiana is flat farming country and many headstones in the area memorialize (and idealize) life on the land. Quiz time: What breed of cow? St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. [2013]

Batesville, Indiana

On Heaven's Menu ~ . . . Pies:  It looks like a deep-dish apple pie made from scratch. There's the rolling pin used to make the dough. Main ingredient: love! Who can identify the wheeled contraption chosen to symbolize her husband's life? St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. [2013]

Batesville, Indiana

Music of the Angels ~ Guitars:  Most guitars are not made of granite, but this one is. It must last forever. The angels say it sounds better in heaven than it did on earth. In the post-human future, maybe we'll all be treated to a concert. St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery. [2013]

2 Ti. 4:7

We'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong