headstone » Random Says...

E is for Entropy

Apr 052012

Entropy. It’s one of those words that just looks and sounds appealing to me for some reason. On top of that (and prehaps like duende) it’s a word rich in meaning.

You may know about entropy in terms of the second law of thermodynamics, but I’m going to take a broader view. Entropy is often used to refer to the tendency for disorder to increase in a system.

If you’ve looked around my blog at all, you’ve probably noticed my interest in cemeteries. One thing I’ve seen is that entropy even hits our final markers.

Of course, isn’t death itself just another example of entropy?

The natural progression from gibberish to bird poo

Random 4 Responses »

Feb 142012

I’ve been working on a post about speaking gibberish in improv, but then I thought of a quote attributed to Mark Twain:

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

It may seem counterintuitive (because you’d think fewer words = less time), but it’s much easier to write long than to write short. At least, it is for me.

In other words, the gibberish piece is still too long.

So, I thought I could try cheating. If a picture is worth a thousand words, at least it doesn’t seem like a thousand words. Maybe by posting some pictures, it’ll be easier for me to keep the number of (written) words down. This may not make sense. Nonetheless…

Heaven forbid I post pretty pictures. Instead, here are a set of pics I like because of the elements of decay or, perhaps I could say entropy.

(As always, click on an image to see a larger version of it.)

There, that should make this post [worth] roughly 6,200 words. I hope it didn’t feel like it.

What words do you think the photos are trying to say?

Dear Maggie E.

Cemeteries 4 Responses »

Feb 052012

Hi! I’m back. Did you miss me? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

File this post in the humongous category: Things I was wrong about.

Some time ago, I wrote a post where I misread a headstone. Well, today I tell you about another error I made in a cemetery.

The first cemetery I ever “visited” just to experience a cemetery was in Port Gamble, WA (not far from where the Keystone Ferry unloads). It’s a sweet little spot on a hill with peekaboo views of Puget Sound.

That was the first time I fell in love with a cemetery, and amongst the headstones was one that became a favorite, not because it was particularly ornate. In fact, it was inoccuous enough that I often had a hard time finding it again on subsequent visits. No, I loved it because of the inscription on it:

In memory of
Maggie E.
Wife of
Suard B. Ackly,
Born in Culler Maine
Died July 22, 1885
Aged 39 years

Her suffering ended with the day, yet lived she at its close,
And breathed the long long night away, in statue-like repose.
But when the sun in all his state illumed the eastern skies,
she passed through glories morning gate and walked in paradise.

When I read this, I felt like I was reading the account of Maggie’s final hours. Many headstones have inscriptions, often of poems, quotes, Bible verses and the like. Fewer have something more personal etched upon them. None that I’ve encountered have actually documented the moment of death of the person buried there.

For years I made the assumption that this particular headstone had, in an admittedly poetic way, described the dying of someone. After all, the words seemed too specific to be from a pre-existing poem. I found it fascinating and oddly intimate to feel like I was there in the final hours of a woman who died so young (by our standards) nearly a century before I was even born.

As it happens (and thanks to the world of information available on the interwebs), I have since learned that this inscription was actually a poem titled “A Death-Bed” by James Aldrich. Oh, how disillusioning! Did Suard B. borrow the poem under which he buried his wife without attributing it to its author?

To be fair, the headstone is well-worn and any attribution might be obscured. Still, I was disappointed to discover that what I thought was a very personal depiction of a woman’s passing was a second-hand account. I don’t even know if it’s accurate to how her last hours went, or if it was just a poem someone liked enough to include on her final marker.

Is it morbid of me to want that glimpse into the moment when life ended for another human being? Or is it just a fascination I have with the fact that every headstone in any cemetery was once new, vivid, raw and real for the dead and those they left behind. Behind every marker is the story of a person’s life and death, and somehow, standing in that space where they were laid to rest brings me into contact with a significant moment in time for that person. Standing there, I can’t help but think of those who have stood in the same spot, pondering the same marker, perhaps experiencing first-hand memories of the person whose ending is memorialized there.

So, I was wrong about Maggie’s headstone, but it still holds a special place in my experience. Rest in peace, dear Maggie E.

I leave you with this, just ’cause.

Past the gate
creaks metal springs
a wonderland of peace
and reminders of
death’s inevitable hand

In stones etched
the spans of life
names
words of hope and grief
farewell love
fear

The energy of the living
is as strong as any ghosts
those who stood
clad in tears and black
mourning the loss
of dear Maggie E
wife of Suard B
hoping for
an afterlife
where they might
stroll hand in hand
again

Views of my favorite grave marker (so far)

Cemeteries No Responses »

Oct 292011

Don’t tell me you didn’t see a cemetery post coming from a mile away!

Bayview Cemetery in Bellingham is one of my favorite places. It’s a pleasure to stroll through and large enough to offer plenty of opportunities for exploration.

It’s also home to a grave marker I revisited many times over the years I lived there.

Bayview statue, black & white

I have many photos of this beauty, including a number taken with an infrared filter*. Such photos come out of the camera looking something like this:

Bayview Cemetery, infrared sample

In other words, the image comes out in monochrome. The red tint is easily changed, however.

Bayview statue, infrared

In this picture, you can see another cool grave-marker in the background.

Bayview statue, sepia IR

Finally, here’s an infrared photo layered with a color photo taken from the same spot.

Bayview statue, IR & color

Look for more images from Bayview in the coming weeks.

* The Nikon D50 has the ability to detect infrared wavelengths. I use a Hoya Infrared (R72) filter on my standard lens. Infrared images have the quality of grass and foliage coming out very bright, while sky and water come out dark.

The IR filter blocks out most visible light, so it’s impossible to see through the viewfinder of an SLR camera. That means any framing should be done without the filter first. Because so much light is filtered out, the shutter speeds are very low, so a tripod is practically required.

A look around the web will show you some amazing infrared images — far more beautiful than my pedestrian examples.

Mt. View Cemetery and Emily Dickinson

Cemeteries No Responses »

Sep 152011

Remember way back when I said I would soon post about “possibly the coolest headstone ever?“* Well, five days later here it is!

I found it in the Mt. View Cemetery here in Ashland. Coming from Washington, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grave marker made of wood. (It makes sense. Given the rain there, those markers would be nothing but lumps of moss after a few years.) Yet, this particular marker I’m writing about is only one of four I’ve seen at the three cemeteries around here.

Since I have never seen a wooden marker, it still amazes me — partly because it’s unfamiliar, but also because it seems so temporary. Of course, this one is topped with a copper covering. The metal cap must protect the end of the wood from rain and snow. Maybe in this climate it will last for years.

The third image above is a close-up of the brass plate on the front. It has an inscription that reads:

Irving Tracy Lord
1.17.1926-3.17.2001

I asked no other thing,
No other was denied.
I offered Being for it;
The mighty merchant smiled.

Brazil? He twirled a button,
Without a glance my way:
“But, madam, is there nothing else
That we can show today?”

Though it’s not credited on the marker, the poem was written by Emily Dickinson, and is titled I Asked No Other Thing.

One curious thing is that Irving Lord died in 2001 — not that long ago. For some reason, that seems too recent for a grave marker to be made of wood. Obviously I’m stereotyping grave marker materials. Shame on me!

Do you know any of the history behind Irving Tracy Lord and his headstone**?

* I can’t truly say this is the coolest headstone ever. I can’t even say it’s the coolest one ever that I’ve seen. Let’s just say it’s “pretty cool” and leave it at that, okay?

** The term “headstone” seems misleading. Should it be “headwood?” That sound vaguely pornographic. What about “headcopper?” Um, kinda clunky. May I suggest we agree that “headstone” encompasses a broader definition that accepts grave markers of all denominations or materials!

How to overcome indecision and post pictures of Hargadine Cemetery

Cemeteries 2 Responses »

Sep 062011

I have something I need to tell you. This isn’t easy for me to say, but you were bound to find out one way or another. So, I thought it was better if I just got it out in the open.

I can be ~~very~~ a teensy bit indecisive at times.

There, I said it. Whew! I feel so much better. Thanks.

I’ve been planning to post on Hargadine Cemetery for awhile now, but I have so many pictures it’s hard to choose which ones to use.

[Random's voice inside his head: I still have twenty pictures I like! That'd be a pantload* of work to get all those ready. Maybe if I put them into groups... <yawn> But first, a bike ride!] (days pass…)

But I finally said to myself, “Myself, just pick one or two effin’ pictures and post them; you don’t have to get them all ready at once. Duh.”

So, that’s what I did, and here they are.

Introduction to Hargadine Cemetery

This is the second oldest cemetery in Ashland. The first burial there was Katie Hargadine, the one-year-old daughter of one of Ashland’s original founders, Robert Hargadine.

This shot gives a pretty good idea of the terrain around the cemetery. It’s dry, hilly, and has lots of trees.

The place is filled with interesting headstones and markers, and some of the oak trees are huge.

*****

This is a closeup of the tall monument in the background of the previous picture. I love how the madrona** tree seems to be reaching out to the monument.

After I converted this to black & white, the engraving of “Husband” stood out more than in the color original. A lot of headstones have family roles engraved on them — especially older ones.

It’s interesting how a person’s role in their family was such a big part of their identity.

Except, I realize I don’t know whether the inscriptions were chosen by the deceased, or by their loved ones. Is such an inscription the deceased proudly stating their most important role or greatest accomplishment? Or, is it the relationship the deceased was to the family member left with the task of choosing the grave marker?

And, how would the person choosing decide which word to use if the deceased was a son, brother, husband AND father?

*****

* The term “pantload” is, I think, self-explanatory, but I credit my first hearing of it to my brother. I’m not sure why.

** I read that the Madrona tree is called Madrone “south of the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon/northern California.” BUT, the tree is called Madrona ”north of the Siskiyou Mountains.”

I’m sure you can see the problem here. These instructions don’t address what to call the tree if you’re basically in the Siskiyou Mountains. So as to clear up this question, I’d like to offer three possible solutions:

Since it is ambiguous, those living in or very near the Siskiyou Mountains get to choose whichever way they prefer.
The exact north-to-south midpoint of the Siskiyou Mountains will be determined. Those living south of the line say “Madrone” and those north of the line say “Madrona.” (Those on the line– Ha! Of course it’s impossible to live on a line. Unless you are dimensionless, which I’m pretty sure you aren’t.)
Finally, I propose we come up with a third option to use instead. Using the established theme (Madron_), the obvious think is to try one of the other vowels: i, o, u or y. All would work nicely, but in honor of Oregon, I vote for “Madrono.”

Astute readers will notice that in my post, I opted to use “Madrona,” essentially choosing solution #1. It’s not that I prefer that name. It’s more that it’s what I’m used to having moved down here from the northland where the trees are unambiguously Madronas. <sigh> Life was so much simpler then.

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