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]

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]

Flemingsburg, Kentucky

Lighthouse Theology 8:  Psalm 27:1 ~ "Jesus is our lighthouse." NASB ~ "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?" Fleming County Cemetery. [2017]

Louisville, Kentucky

Lighthouse Theology 3:  Psalm 50:15 ~ "Through the storm you do not walk alone." NASB ~ "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." Evergreen Cemetery. [2016]

Cynthiana, Kentucky

Defined by Our Duds:  Each of the "seven ages of man" seems to be defined, at least in part, by what we wear. Here, a lad whose life was cut short will forever be remembered as Shakespeare's schoolboy with his "shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school." Well, maybe not exactly. Battle Grove Cemetery. [2015]

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Portraits Etched into Granite:  On those eagle's wings he "slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies" on his way to heaven, all the while with a smile on his face. Recognize the poem by John Gillespie Magee? Bowling Green Gardens. [2019]

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Portraits Etched into Granite:  There are lots of "apps" on their headstone, but the one that draws your attention is their portrait: both smiling as if they really enjoyed their 42 years together.  Bowling Green Gardens. [2019]

Louisville, Kentucky

Headstone Sculptures:  Not just one bird, but three. Is the sculpture a representation of what they could see from their kitchen window? Is it the number of children they brought into this world? Or is it a testimony to Bob Marley: "Every little thing gonna be alright"?  Evergreen Cemetery. [2016]

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

Headstone Sculptures: Do you recognize the resurrected Jesus and his bleeding heart?  "Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which he renders unto Thee in the name of sinners." What an appropriate image and prayer to find in a cemetery named after Jesus' mother! St. Mary's Cemetery. [2017[

Frankfort, Kentucky

Headstone Sculptures:  Rarely do you see a full body sculpture atop a cemetery memorial (unless it's an angel, of course). Much more common is a photographic etching: in this case, one that shows him behind the wheel. Try bringing the skills of an archaeologist to this grave site: What clues to character do you find in the body language shown in both images? Frankfort Cemetery. [2017]

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

Identity Headwear ~ Saints:  Does a halo count as headwear? A crown surely does. In this case, the crown is on the head of Mother Mary. If you are the mother of God, you probably deserve to wear a crown. No crown for Joseph, however. St. Mary's Cemetery. [2017]

Louisville, Kentucky

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Here's an Arab name, but a Christian Arab. Did you know that most Arab-Americans are Christians? Only since 1990 have Muslim Arabs become a significant part of the Arab immigration stream to the US. Where would a Christian Arab immigrant likely come from? This family name probably has its origin in Lebanon, which would have been a part of Syria during Ottoman rule. The terminal y or ee sound marks it as typically Syrian. Syrians are fond of ending lots of words in ee, much to the surprise of Arabic speakers from the rest of the world. Evergreen Cemetery. [2016]

Cynthiana, Kentucky

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ V:  The letter V is the 21st most frequently used letter in the English language. Geographers love it because it signals so many different surnames that begin with Van, which is then followed by the name of the place where the ancestors originated. In this case it means "from Hook," which at least narrows us down to the Dutch-speaking world. Battle Grove Cemetery. Yes, geographers are place-lovers. [2015]

Winchester, Kentucky

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ D:  The letter D is the 10th most frequently used letter in the English language. Here, it fills the belly of a penguin on a garden flag, adding a whimsical air to the grave of someone who died far too young. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]

North Middletown, Kentucky

Bequeathed to the Living ~ Parting Advice:  "SK8 or Die." So sayeth Shaggy. North Middletown Cemetery. [2017]

Oldtown, Kentucky

The Christian Churchyard:  When the American population was rural and dispersed over large areas, there were only two choices for burial: close to home or close to church. That's why so many small, country churches are surrounded by graves. Oldtown Christian Church Cemetery. [2017]

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

What Happened on 14 June 1777?  The United States adopted a national flag that came to be known as the 'star spangled banner.' It's not surprising to see it all over American graveyards, sometimes etched into granite and sometimes flying free over the grave itself. The inscription on this headstone reads "Once in our lives and now in our hearts." We could modify it to refer to the red-white-and-blue: "Everywhere in our lives and always in our hearts." St. Mary's Cemetery. [2017]

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]

Winchester, Kentucky

The Last Supper:  Good Friday should really be called Crucifixion Friday. It was on this day, almost 2,000 years ago, that Jesus made his way through the streets of Jerusalem to the 'place of the scull,' where he was crucified. Little more than twelve hours had passed between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]

Rembrandt's rendition of the crucifixion of Jesus (1631)

Erlanger, Kentucky

Christmastide Graveside:  Believe it or not, the twelve days of Christmas began on Christmas Day. The season is called Christmastide and it carries us into the new year. Now, a few days after the holiday, the decorations linger, as they might for a another month or so. In this case, a still-mourning family's Christmas tree is short two balls, and an elf seems to be visiting the grave. See his hat and shoes? Forest Lawn Memorial Park. [2017]