...love and cemetery plots...

My fella and I bought land today in Hollywood Cemetery. It has been my dream since I was a teen. This was going to be my forever-after home; but, then I got married to a fella who had his own plan. Our plans were different and we were different; all of this was alright. But then, his plans changed and he wanted us to be bones together… and for our first anniversary we thought buying funeral plots would be a romantic gesture for two individuals who had been divorced…twice. Getting married is not always forever for many of us; but, buying cemetery plots together seems like a sweet gesture of forever. But, we put it off and we put it off; I hesitated and I was not sure why. 

Hollywood Cemetery! The place is already like a second home to me. My fella asked when we were going to make the appointment.  I was busy; work was hectic. I always had an excuse.

The thing is… this was my dream. He already had his dream and I worried I was bullying him into being with me… even though this was his idea. At some point, I was going to have to trust him. When he tells me to be myself, he means it. When he encourages me to follow my interests, he means it. When he says he wants us to be bones together, he really does mean it.

Today was the appointment and I was so anxious… like wedding butterflies! I was going to make one of the biggest decisions of my life affecting my afterlife. What if the spot wasn’t perfect?!? How in the world does one go about selecting their burial plot?!?

We wanted to dress in cheery colors!

Well, it was quite simple actually. We made the appointment. I already knew the Assistant General Manager with whom we would be meeting. And, I knew the administrative assistant. The AGM asked us what we were planning (burial or cremation); we want both (because I’m terribly claustrophobic and while all the hot boys of my youth wanted to sleep in coffins, I had no plans of crawling in one with them! Plus, all those damn Poe stories about being buried alive. AND, I’m terribly bothered by needles so I don’t want to be poked and prodded. Since I’m Southern, a little heat has never bothered me. Turn up the fire and let me turn to ash.

The AGM handwrote everything for us including prices and fees. He showed us a map; and, finally, he drove us around the cemetery in a golf cart.

We chose the third plot of five; it was literally the one less traveled and I think we both knew immediately that this was it. The first two were in a more prominent section as were the latter two. The third one took us on a small adventure. I even shared that my gothy heart was swooning as we walked behind two mausoleums. I had never considered saying that it would be nice to be near such things. And there, under a giant magnolia, was our plot. The AGM noted that it was one that no one else has wanted. Even better.

Neighbors to the left... and an old dirt pathway.

It embraces my goth-girl need to creep around mausoleums and my fella's longing to be around trees and among birds.

They say when you try on your perfect wedding dress you just get the feeling; or, when you meet the right partner, you just know. I’m not even talking about all that but when we saw our plot, we knew. We had planned to look and go home to discuss it; but, my fella and I looked at each other and said, “This is it!” 

Behind the mausoleums feeling the spooky atmosphere!

And to make everything that much easier, they have a no interest payment plan for five years. Cemetery plots and funeral expenses aren’t cheap. This makes everything a bit easier especially when one can plan ahead.