There were about a dozen of us for the evening tour at Green-Wood Cemetery. Two young lesbian couples, one third wheel between them, a heterosexual couple who regretted being there as soon as they arrived, three girls who had been day drinking, one Asian tourist who wore a miner’s headlamp, and my friend Lucy and I. We all stood just past the gothic arches of the entrance waiting for our guide when again I caught a whiff of freshly baked bread.
Every couple of weeks or so, my mom has a call with a cousin back in Poland. He lives in Krakow but an important topic of conversation on each call is the state of various tombstones in a village cemetery 2 hours drive north of the city. My grandparents and several other family members are buried there, and whether the tombstones are in good shape is information that travels regularly across the Atlantic. Cemetery culture is fascinating. My current wish is just to be dealt with in whatever way least impacts the environment; I wonder whether that will change over time.
There is something oddly fascinating about tomb stones and grave yards. We have two in our small country town of Chipping Campden. There is an engaging stillness not present anywhere else. They offer quiet, reflective time. Provoke curiosity about previous lives lived and of course present the final option that misses no-one out. For a species that seems to have increasingly lost the ability for stillness, time spent in graveyards should perhaps be on the school curriculum. Enjoyed reading this Sophia. Thank you. My own Substack last week was on a nostalgic trip to my childhood family holiday town, your quote really resonated.♥️
May 22, 2023·edited May 22, 2023Liked by Sophia Efthimiatou
Oh, that was fun to read, thanks. I wrote something yesterday and included my donkey Dimitri and memories of my dog. On May 3 I wrote about spending some time in a cemetery, called "The View". I would be honored if you would read them. They are short.
So beautiful, Sophia! I always wonder about the lives of the people who you get a snippet of on a gravestone. What you said at the end is so poignant - it really is a privilege to be laid to rest in a place that feels like home. 💗
I lived a block away from Green-Wood for 19 years - thank you for the lovely evocation of it and so many other terminal destinations. Did you get to see Minerva hailing Lady Liberty from the heights? It’s a bolt of connection out of the cemetery and back into the wider world.
More lovely than spooky. More life affirming than thanatotic. Sweet. I'll take the smell of fresh baked bread anywhere, anytime. Thanks , with bows, Sophia.
Ahhhhhh, Sophia, you caused a good ache in my chest.
The valiant pig will live on in my heart with Robbie Burns' "mouse."
nice Sunday read, Sophia 🙏🏼
Beautiful and evocative. So many fear this conversation
I love the epitaph of the pig, friend to everybody 😍
Every couple of weeks or so, my mom has a call with a cousin back in Poland. He lives in Krakow but an important topic of conversation on each call is the state of various tombstones in a village cemetery 2 hours drive north of the city. My grandparents and several other family members are buried there, and whether the tombstones are in good shape is information that travels regularly across the Atlantic. Cemetery culture is fascinating. My current wish is just to be dealt with in whatever way least impacts the environment; I wonder whether that will change over time.
There is something oddly fascinating about tomb stones and grave yards. We have two in our small country town of Chipping Campden. There is an engaging stillness not present anywhere else. They offer quiet, reflective time. Provoke curiosity about previous lives lived and of course present the final option that misses no-one out. For a species that seems to have increasingly lost the ability for stillness, time spent in graveyards should perhaps be on the school curriculum. Enjoyed reading this Sophia. Thank you. My own Substack last week was on a nostalgic trip to my childhood family holiday town, your quote really resonated.♥️
This is such an open piece, I too thought the epitaph was ace. Great pics too to go with this.
Gorgeous, thoughtful writing. All of this is true.
Cemeteries are such great seeds for told and untold stories. Thank you for this, Sophia.
Oh, that was fun to read, thanks. I wrote something yesterday and included my donkey Dimitri and memories of my dog. On May 3 I wrote about spending some time in a cemetery, called "The View". I would be honored if you would read them. They are short.
“Lucy”
Great writing Sophia, thank you.
I was just telling my son that we Greeks are the happiest fatalists on earth.
(And coincidentally, he lived for years in an apartment where he could see Greenwood from the kitchen window)
So beautiful, Sophia! I always wonder about the lives of the people who you get a snippet of on a gravestone. What you said at the end is so poignant - it really is a privilege to be laid to rest in a place that feels like home. 💗
I lived a block away from Green-Wood for 19 years - thank you for the lovely evocation of it and so many other terminal destinations. Did you get to see Minerva hailing Lady Liberty from the heights? It’s a bolt of connection out of the cemetery and back into the wider world.
More lovely than spooky. More life affirming than thanatotic. Sweet. I'll take the smell of fresh baked bread anywhere, anytime. Thanks , with bows, Sophia.