Where's the Respect?

A local cemetery is in the news. Again. The most recent negative attention was this Memorial Day where visitors couldn't find headstones for the overgrowth of grass and weeds. Apparently perpetual care doesn't always mean that the grounds will be kept free of debris and weeds growing out of control. I mean, who really cares? The "residents" there aren't concerned with landscaping. So what does it matter?

This latest focus on the cemetery follows a long line of complaints against its owner. He's been in the news before. Lots of times. There were suspicions that graves were being exhumed at night and piggybacked in other graves, thus freeing up more plots to sell. Business is business, right? When the last plot is sold it's time to open up more opportunities. Then, last year a woman reported finding a skull in a heap of dirt. She photographed it and authorities were notified, but the skull was gone when the media and the owner showed up. Convenient.

I have my own personal experience with the cemetery, one that left me with a dirty feeling and in a rage over the lack of respect afforded to those who have passed away. Unaware of the bad publicity the cemetery had suffered, we buried my mother-in-law there. When I bought her headstone I had to contact the owner, pay a fee, and get permission to have the stone placed on her grave. I was instructed to go to a local pawn shop to handle this cemetery business. I walked in to the stench of animals, particularly a big gorilla in a cage - among other creatures and their waste. I was lead to a tiny back room where cemetery business was handled. I was shocked. It was not the environment I expected to see when conducting such a somber and respectful transaction. Fortunately, I'd heard the rumors and bad news when my husband died, and he is buried elsewhere.

I don't have a problem with a man owning both a pawn shop and a cemetery. I do have a problem with the business being conducted at one central location, complete with exotic animals and their stench. Show some respect, dude. And keep people where they are placed. It's supposed to be a "final" resting place, not a stopover. No grave should be disturbed except for legal reasons. And never, never, should a body part be above the ground in a pile of dirt.

And finally, keep it mowed. This might be a moneymaker for you, dude, but it's a sacred place for those of us who have loved ones buried there. Where's the respect?