Took a detour here on a way to a class for work. I only got about halfway through before my phone battery died on me. So, this is Part 1. I will absolutely be going back.
Pictures first, stories after.
So, what was I doing there? Well a friend had a loved one pass away at a very young age and once I heard the atory, I couldn’t help but feel I HAD to go, even though it was adding 100 miles to my trip.
I just couldn’t help it.
I did take a picture of the fog on the drive there, mainly in the mountains of West Virginia and a little in Virginia, but it wasn’t bad and I could still safely go the speed limit.
I was expecting a smaller town than Winchester is, but the cemetery was easy to find. There was nice parking inside the place near the entrance. Between Billion Graves and Google Maps, I finally found the area I knew the grave was located in. Half of the graves were upright and the other flat, so know which type I was looking for was quite helpful.
The pic was grainy and I hadn’t found it after looking for over half an hour. I was walking in circles in this small area, not finding it at all. I was getting frustrated and was starting to worry I wouldn’t have enough time to keep looking. I still had another 180 miles to drive and had to be there to check in near the specified 1630 start time.
I eventually had to take a minute to hust relax and let go of the stress I was adding onto myself. I actually signed up.for the BG site and found a slightly clearer picture of it. I was within 15 feet of it and had been walking around and right by it the whole time!
Once I stood before it, I just became overwhelmed with emotion for some unknown reason and openly wept. It was just coming out and I still don’t understand why.
Then, I felt their spirit come to me and was trying to.comfort me as best they knew how. It was really touching and the most profound moment I’ve ever had when working with the dead.
Eventually, I tossed the fresh grapes onto the ground around their marker and poured out a large sweet tea for them, too. They chose to share this with the others at the site.
From then on, I had an honor guard of sorts as I walked through the place and was why my battery died halfway through.
Anyway, thought I’d relate.
8 Likes
I just had a flash of understanding as I wondered why I reacted so much when I found their little grave. It was almost me, in a way.
I was born 2.5 months early in 1977, weighing 3lbs 6 ozs, without fully formed lungs. That was almost a death sentence back then and I spend months in an incubator to see if I would make it or not. I died a dozen times and while my mother is a known exaggerator, I met a nurse that was there and she actually confirmed that when I spoke with her.
I think that some…primal…imprinting, far off memories, or similar just came out as I identified with this child that presented as someone in their 20’s.
I do know that I’ve always felt Death nearby. It’s never been far and I think that subsequent deaths along the way (at least 2, maybe 3 since) kinda left me a little in both worlds. My largest roster of spirits are now in this area and I’m sure that beginning somehow plays into my path.
6 Likes
This place is beautiful. Our public cemetery isn’t half as good, and even dangerous especially during the night. They say that Victorian era people would use the cemetery as a park and I can definitely see the appeal if the place is as nice as this.
1 Like
I lived in Charlottesville Va for a little while. There was a cemetary close to where I lived that was actually beautiful and sometimes people whould have picnics in it. Or just take a stroll through it.
3 Likes
There were several markers that were benches or had them added for people to sit on. In one case, it served as the tombstone.
In Hawaii, it wasn’t uncommon for people to set up overhead tents, bring lawn chairs, and hang out at the cemetery. Haven’t seen it at the level elsewhere.
1 Like