Friday, October 28, 2005
Finding Ben
My strange sighting occurred at the Munderf Cemetery. We drove along its roads with no intentions of getting out; it wasn’t the most exciting place I have ever been to. However, I spotted a tree, at the top of the back section of the cemetery that I wanted to photograph. We parked by the tree and upon getting out, I couldn’t find a shot that I liked.
Since we were there, Juli decided to check in on the sites of some of her ancestors. I began walking down the hill into the center of the cemetery. I found myself drawn to the back row and spotted a stone of interest. I took several photos from the middle rows, looking out across the horizon and then approached the grave.
It was the only stone that I approached in the entire cemetery. I had never been to the Munderf Cemetery, but had driven past it numerous times. How it is that of all the stones in the cemetery, I ended up at this one is beyond me. I can’t begin to explain how strange this was, but it made the hair rise on the back of my neck.
For six years, I heard about Ben. His passing had a huge impact on many lives—most of all, my boyfriend of the time. He told the story often as we passed the cemetery. Yet despite his grief, we never stopped to visit.
They were eleven when Ben was killed. He was hit by a car and died instantly. My boyfriend never got over it. It was his first experience with death and the loss of a close childhood friend. Perhaps this was part of his anger and rage. I do not know.
I still haven’t mentioned this to him or any of his family. It was all just too weird.
How or why these things happen, I can not say. It seemed a little bit beyond odd coincidences, in my book, though. The pictures turned out pretty cool--note the rainbow in the final picture--beyond words...
Since we were there, Juli decided to check in on the sites of some of her ancestors. I began walking down the hill into the center of the cemetery. I found myself drawn to the back row and spotted a stone of interest. I took several photos from the middle rows, looking out across the horizon and then approached the grave.
It was the only stone that I approached in the entire cemetery. I had never been to the Munderf Cemetery, but had driven past it numerous times. How it is that of all the stones in the cemetery, I ended up at this one is beyond me. I can’t begin to explain how strange this was, but it made the hair rise on the back of my neck.
For six years, I heard about Ben. His passing had a huge impact on many lives—most of all, my boyfriend of the time. He told the story often as we passed the cemetery. Yet despite his grief, we never stopped to visit.
They were eleven when Ben was killed. He was hit by a car and died instantly. My boyfriend never got over it. It was his first experience with death and the loss of a close childhood friend. Perhaps this was part of his anger and rage. I do not know.
I still haven’t mentioned this to him or any of his family. It was all just too weird.
How or why these things happen, I can not say. It seemed a little bit beyond odd coincidences, in my book, though. The pictures turned out pretty cool--note the rainbow in the final picture--beyond words...
# posted by Basho : 11:17 PM
