Dale Cemetery

Nice place. Quiet. Relaxing. Great first date. Would go again.

Today, while taking flowers to place at Dale, I pulled my car off to the side, two wheels in the grass and two wheels on the road, as I always do because the roadways are maybe a lane and a half wide and I wanted to leave plenty of room for people to get around me. As I was sitting in front of one of the headstones trimming flowers, I heard a Kubota drive behind me three times and finally stop and idle on the fourth. I finished up, stood to leave, and one of the men said (without addressing or acknowledging me first), «If that’s your vehicle, we would appreciate that you didn’t park it like that again,» drove back to the office, and went inside (not like being on a mower or anything that I was directly affecting them being able to get done). Eh, whatever. I moved my car to the next grave and left it parked in the roadway to avoid the grass. But really? It’s a cemetary. I don’t plan to stay and frolic all day or even long enough to leave a dent in the grass. Although I understand it is a job for them, I do believe there are jobs and circumstances that must adapt to the way people and customers are dealt with. Thankfully, my feelings don’t get hurt too easily, but I can only imagine had I been a grieving widow or a mother visiting her child and feeling like my presence was such a bother. Sad.
My entire maternal and paternal family is buried at Dale, but even their rules and regulations regarding grave decorating have become almost ridiculous. Heaven forbid you attempt to honor a loved one at their grave, because it might break some (made up) code.