Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi

The First Shall be Last, and The Last First:  He was so infatuated with his A-names (plural), he had to find a spouse who could share his infatuation with A-names (plural). Notice neither one of them lists their middle names. Why not? They don't begin with A. "Mother" and "Father" says the inscription: Want to bet that their children just had to get all As in school? St. Mary Cemetery. [2014]

Clinton, Mississippi

Give Me That Old-Time Technology:  Remember analog phones? For a while, you were lucky if you had just one desk phone in your house, and you were even luckier if you had a private line! Most house phones shared a line with all the neighbors. If you picked up the receiver at just the right moment, you could covertly listen in on others' conversations. See how cemeteries can function as museums of technology? Clinton Cemetery. [2018]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Free-Range Figurines:  Symbolizing the essence of freedom, an eagle tries to take flight. On his wings ride the souls of the departed. "They shall mount up with wings of eagles." So sayeth Isaiah. There seems to be no better symbol of a free-range spirit than an eagle. Cedar Rest Cemetery. [2014]

Meridian, Mississippi

Headstone Sculptures: It should be a seal. (Do you see why?) Instead, it's a horse. Oh, but a seal would be so much more interesting and almost poetic. Rose Hill Cemetery. [2013]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Adjacencies ~ Schools:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In this case, it's a school and a practice field. Actually, the proximity is a little jarring since the habit today is to hide cemeteries so we don't have to confront the inevitable. By contrast, these graves are seem every day by students at this school. And, some of those students must have relatives buried here. St. Mary Cemetery. [2014]

Osyka, Mississippi

Identity Headwear ~ Railroad Workers:  Daddy worked for Illinois Central. It looks like even his kids knew him by his hat. He made a living as a railroad man; he made a life as a family man. And his kids knew it: "To the world you may have just been somebody, but to all of us you were the world." Osyka Cemetery. [2018]

Magee, Mississippi

Voices from the Land of the Living ~ Third Person Singular Subjective Case:  "He Loved God and His Family." "What a Special Life It Was." Magee Cemetery. [2018]

Clinton, Mississippi

Bequeathed to the Living ~ Parting Advice:  "Do it like a Choctaw!" So sayeth Doc and his wife: Mississippi College loyalists. Clinton Cemetery. [2018]

Jackson, Mississippi

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I am alone, myself in my own keeping, until the end. I, in my own grave sleeping, shall no longer hear your voice or see your face. Yet, shall I hear, yet see. In whatever place while my soul presses to new and lonely birth, you shall I hear, shall see, though you walk the earth." Cedar Lawn Cemetery. [2018]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I'm Gone."  There is no period after "gone," so please finish the sentence for him. Think of it as a rebus. Rebus = a puzzle in which words are replaced by pictures. Cedar Rest Cemetery. [2014]

Meridian, Mississippi

The Lone Star Flag is Very Much Alive!  The Lone Star Flag is very much alive wherever you find transplanted Texans, including here in Mississippi. This is a group marker. It honors "the men from Texas who are known to be buried here and to all Texans who passed this way." The boldest type is reserved for this, however: "NOTHING IS ENDED UNTIL IT IS FORGOTTEN." What does that mean? That the Civil War isn't (and never will be) over? Rose Hill Cemetery. [2013]

Meridian, Mississippi

Singling Out Historical Individuals:  Even before there was 'country music,' there was Jimmie Rodgers, the man who started it all. On the Mississippi Country Music Trail, his marker is placed at his grave site. In fact, the trail begins at his final resting place. Rephrasing Natalie Sleeth:  In his end is a beginning. Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Philosophy of Life ~ "I Lived My Life My Way":  The family name fits the epitaph, doesn't it? It's the type of declaration that answers some questions and raises others. Don't we all want to live our lives our way? But do we? Cedar Rest Cemetery. [2014]

Meridian, Mississippi

Screen Capture:  How do you want to be remembered? What screen captures you at your best? Start now: Go through your collection of snapshots and pick the one you want on your memorial. If you don't, the decision will be up to your survivors. Magnolia Cemetery. [2013]

We will hold you
in our hearts,
Until we can hold you
in our arms.

Meridian, Mississippi

Food as 'Grave Goods':  As Mardi Gras approaches, the beads come out and the liquor flows. Cemeteries seem not to be exempt. Although food is not common on Christian graves, this is the burial place of the King and Queen of the Gypsies. In 1910, the New York Times reported that five chiefs of the great gypsy clans met in Washington and elected Emil Mitchell to become King of the Gypsies. This year, though, it is his wife, Kelly, who gets the beads. She also gets the apples and the Jägermeister. Rose Hill Cemetery. [2013]

Kelly
Wife of Emil Mitchell

Queen of the Gypsies