A Change of Heart

A welcome by the "town's namesake..." actually our dear coach dressed as the southern colonel who named the town.

Okay, so maybe most of you had heard of this, but I had not. My adopted town recently celebrated its 150th birthday with many kinds of activities, but this one was new to me: Cemetery Theater. When my friends began to plan this, I was a no-go. In my heart I imagined it to be very bizarre, even disrespectful, a bit controversial... and awfully sad. All the way through the planning stages, I was NOT able to be a fan of this ... But gradually I realized how much love and honor was going into the planning and details of Cemetery Theater. I saw online it had been done in other cemeteries, and I read parts of the scripts. Finally I talked to the planners even more, who are also my dearest friends. Out of respect for their hard work, I boarded a tram near sunset, kleenexes in purse and mind on sceptic... I was amazed. The family members often acted as the loved ones, having set up little cameos of the lives they lived... The town's founders, the Italian early families, beloved fixit men, and even the farmer who struck coal and sold his fortune to a wheeler dealer long ago... The actors filled the cemetery with life, with honor, and with wonderful stories of our loved ones. It will go down in my heart as one of the most sacred times spent in a cemetery. My friend's cheeks were wet the whole time as she relived her childhood with these people... I loved the experience and am grateful I decided to be a part, a very small one, of it.