MEComposing

I know i've at least said this twice here... i've always had a morbid fascination about death.

It actually kills me to control myself from asking about the little details of a demise, from what caused it to last words spoken (so yeah, only the closest to me would actually know about this weird interest).

I am fascinated by how one contemplates his mortality, and deathbed scenes, and motivations to the making of a will, and the superstitions and traditions surrounding a death, a wake, a burial.

I am fascinated by cemeteries and tombs and epitaphs and people making a living from the dead (from the hotel-inspired lobbies of high-end funeral homes to grave robbers and cemetery squatters).

That is not to say I don't find all these things creepy... or that i'm not scared of ghosts and what-nots. But always, there is that fascination.

And no, I actually don't collect any freaky stuff... however, I have always wanted to take pictures of epitaphs and tombstones... believing that one can learn a great deal from them...

... like basically realizing that life IS temporary... and that somewhere, somehow, people have died... who had the same name as yours, or on your birthday, or who didn't live long enough, or who lived too long it seemed...

... like how some families, or cultures, either treat their dead with so much respect... or just want to make up for the lack of love for the person who died while he was still alive... and thus build mausoleums that could probably finance the education of twenty aspiring doctors.

Visiting my nephew's resting place yesterday... we couldn't help but engage in wondering about the other people lying around him... pointing to niches which most probably housed babies like Pyro himself... wondering what the engraving before the birthdate is (is it a cloud, a pearl oyster, a fetus?)... amused that some family included their family's business name (we're assuming) on the epitaph...

I told my husband about that picture idea... and he said I could maybe publish it in book-form. But then we wondered if we'd have to seek permission first from the families.

For the meantime, here are other photos of funny epitaphs.

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Oh, and I just find masonic cemeteries truly fascinating!

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What's more fascinating? The option for stand-up burial.

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A friend recently lost his father (age 58) to heart attack. Since their family hails from Benguet and their clan actually owns three mountains, his father got his wish and was buried at the side of one of the mountains... with an epitaph reading:

"After this, what more can I want?"

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Me, I want to be cremated though.