Memento Mori

I am a sucker for interesting statuary, especially cemetery statuary. The photo behind my blog title (shown at left from the front) is of an inspiring piece at the Crestlawn cemetery in NW Atlanta. Unfortunately, the man's nose is long gone, perhaps the work of teenage cretins. Otherwise, it's lovely.

I enjoy photographing statues and trees and other architectural delights with an impossibly blue sky in the background. You know the kind of sky that makes you ache to look at it? That kind of sky makes me supremely content. I bask in that sky. It's why I love fall so much.


These photos are from historic Oakland Cemetery near downtown. I thoroughly enjoy trips there, especially during fall and winter. I feel like John Muir experiencing Yosemite. I don't hear the cars whizzing by on Boulevard or Memorial Dr. I can spend hours there, awash in the tranquility of the dead.

The dogs enjoy visiting the graves, too. Weddings and other ceremonies are often held there.

In Victorian times, it was common for cemeteries to be destinations for picnics. Families would frequent them like we do parks, and spend the day there. It's no wonder many of them are so beautiful.

If I ever get to Paris, a visit to Pere-Lachaise is definitely top on the list. You can actually take a virtual tour of Paris' most famous burial grounds.

Pretty neat.

I'd also love to see Highgate Cemetery in London.

Here is a cool list of statuary symbolism.

"Has anyone supposed it lucky to be born?
I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it."
~Walt Whitman, Song of Myself