Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Trinity II



Here are a few more shots taken while I was wandering around the graveyard at Trinity Episcopal Church.

As usual, I must digress for a minute and confess that when I typed the word "graveyard," I had to ask myself (a) where I pulled that word from because I hardly hear it any more and (b) what the difference is, if any, between the words graveyard and cemetery.

Although we may never know the answer to (a), the answer to (b) surprised me. I think most of the surprise was due to the fact that I actually selected the word that was most appropriate, at least according to Wikipedia (which is never wrong):

"A graveyard from Old English graf "pit"; yairden "garden, open place") is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones.

In countries with a Christian tradition it is usually located near and administered by a church. From the early 19th century, new burying grounds were frequently founded as cemeteries, which are burying grounds that are separate from a church or parish.".

I think it is safe to say that nowadays the words are interchangeable, but I am glad to know my use of an antiquated word is OK since we are talking about tombstones near the church.

Let's return now to Trinity, shall we?







Although it isn't an overwhelmingly large lot, there are lots of graves here.

And even though most of the graves are decades (and some well over a century) old, the ground was soft, like a cushion, and gave way in  many places.  Almost as if the graves were recently dug.  

Except they weren't.  

Also, it was frigid the day I was here, so if anything the ground should have been solid.

But it wasn't.




Some of the tombstones are so old the names are difficult to decipher.




As I meandered about, I stopped to notice the windows.  These were particularly interesting.










(Did you know the first known use of the word "meander" was approximately 1612?  CBW must be a reincarnated early colonist.  An early colonist who ambles about aimlessly in real life just as much as she does in her writing.)


Returning to the windows, this one looked familiar.











Click here for a post about Grace Providence Church down Mobjack that contains a photo of another window featuring an anchor very similar to this one. Although I remember the pictures from that particular post, I did not remember most of what I wrote. And I have to say that silly post made me laugh reading it two years later--the Walmart part in particular.










Isn't it wonderful when you can entertain yourself and make yourself laugh? This sort of talent comes in very handy when you live in an isolated place like Mathews, which has limited options for entertainment. Even if you aren't considered entertaining by others, at least you can entertain yourself. Also, do you see how I reference a blog post about Grace Providence Church and then go on to say that the part that made me laugh had to do with Walmart? Do you know how far apart the topic of Walmart is from a church? Have we even talked about Trinity in this post?




Notice the orb in the upper left corner.  A ghost perhaps?



If I were retired and/or independently wealthy and/or able to sustain myself and family without having to work, I would spend a great deal of my time wandering around places like this and writing silly blog posts and nosing around in the library and the public records trying to piece together a story for each place.

As it stands, however, I must keep my day job.  So I don't have a lot of time to wander, explore, and play do research.

But I can still write silly blog posts.

The End.




6 comments:

deborah said...

I enjoy your wanderings and meanderings! I wish you didn't have to work so you could write many sensational books...

Jamie said...

The ground was soft because of zombies according to the Brat Child. Be on the lookout. The window reminds me of Midge's new anchor tattoo. We won't discuss that further. Sadly, no ghost orbs, just sun dogs. But I bet there's some ghosts there.

Anonymous said...

What an interesting post today. I had no idea there was a difference between the two terms. --Betsy

Daryl said...

i enjoy watching you be amusing ... my WV is 1328 drafety ...ummmm

Mental P Mama said...

Love that anchor window...and I always thought that cemeteries were sanctified ground and burying grounds were not...I am quite dumb, though.

Meg McCormick said...

Thank you for clarifying the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard. I did not know the difference. If you could clear up "purse" and "handbag" for me, and also "davenport" and "sofa" and "couch" I would be most appreciative.