The heat has hit most of the country very hard this week, and I knew that I had do get my walk in early. Dew still heavy on the grass, I went to one of my favorite walking places, Graceland Cemetery in Knoxville, IA. At 7AM I see a few walkers, a couple of runners, but very few people who are visiting grave sites. Today was different. As I did my laps, I noticed a man in the distance standing in front of a gravestone, perhaps 50 yards away. White polo shirt and jeans, he looked to be in his seventies. He didn't notice me, but as I approached I could see his shoulders heaving, and as I drew even closer, I heard a sob. I turned on my heel, and walked away, leaving him is privacy. Twenty minutes later he was still there, only slightly more composed. He nodded as I passed. By the time I left, he was gone.
When my walk was over, I went to the gravestone where he had been weeping. Flowers adorned it, as did photos of what I presumed to be a grand baby. On the tombstone of a husband and wife, the woman's birthdate in the 1930's, as well as a death date in January of this year was etched. The husband's birthdate was inscribed, but not the death date. I presumed that the husband was the man I saw weeping. Two rings were interlocked on the stone, with a marriage date inscribed--1959.
How wonderful, I thought. To have been loved, and to love someone so much that seven months after the passing of the loved one, not just tears were brought to ones eyes, but heartbreaking sobs. And fifty plus years of marriage. As sad as this gentleman was, if we were all only so lucky as he.
When my walk was over, I went to the gravestone where he had been weeping. Flowers adorned it, as did photos of what I presumed to be a grand baby. On the tombstone of a husband and wife, the woman's birthdate in the 1930's, as well as a death date in January of this year was etched. The husband's birthdate was inscribed, but not the death date. I presumed that the husband was the man I saw weeping. Two rings were interlocked on the stone, with a marriage date inscribed--1959.
How wonderful, I thought. To have been loved, and to love someone so much that seven months after the passing of the loved one, not just tears were brought to ones eyes, but heartbreaking sobs. And fifty plus years of marriage. As sad as this gentleman was, if we were all only so lucky as he.
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