Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sid Salter on Arizona/Mexico & Immigration

Sid Salter comments on the Mexican President's reaction to the new Arizona Immigration Law in the Clarion Ledger - read it here.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Say a Few Words Over 'em

(This commentary also seen on "Cornbread & Potlikker" Blog)
May is the month of memorial. In this part of the country, many people return to the churches of their roots to pay respect to their ancestors. My family does the same. Our history is long in Winston County and my mother’s family has an ancestral plot that dates back to the mid 1800’s. There is something comforting about walking through this cemetery and reading the gravestones of the people that came before you. Not only are the names and dates meaningful but many stones have quotes or Bible passages that were appropriate or near and dear to that person.

In the Deep South, almost all epitaphs are of a religious nature; providing comfort to those left behind but not really telling us much about these people. Were they kind or cruel? Did they lead happy lives or did they meet their end in some unfortunate way? In other parts of the world, epitaphs can be a bit more colorful. Some people utilize humor when dealing with death and write their own epitaphs probably to the chagrin of the remaining family. For example, on a grave marker in England:

“On the 22nd of June~
Jonathan Fiddle ~
Went out of tune.”

Or in a New Mexico Cemetery:

“Here lies Johnny Yeast
Pardon me for not rising.”

Or

~ ANN MANN ~
”Here lies Ann Mann
Who lived an old maid
But died an old Mann.
Dec. 8, 1767”

It’s not difficult to recognize when the deceased didn’t choose their own inscription: the choice often left to someone that probably wasn’t too fond of the person that was just interred. Examples include a grave stone in Nova Scotia:

Ezekial Aikle
Age 102
The Good Die Young.”
Or

~ ANNA PERRY ~
”The children of Israel wanted bread
And the Lord gave them manna
Parson Perry wanted a wife
And the Devil gave him Anna!”

Some epitaphs provide too much information as to the method of death of an individual:

“He died at a public gathering
When the platform
Suddenly gave away.”

Or

~ ANNA HEPEWELL ~
”Here lies the body of our Anna
Done to death by a banana
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low
But the skin of the thing that made her go!”

Or

“Here lies Lester Moore
Four slugs from a .44
No Les No More.”

My favorite story is a tale of a neglected gravestone in a grassy cemetery. The original inscription was thoughtful and perhaps appropriate:

"Pause, stranger, when you pass me by,
For as you are, so once was I.
As I am now, so will you be.
Then prepare unto death, and follow me."

However someone had decided to add a few lines and had scratched this below:

"To follow you I'm not content
Until I know which way you went!"

All of this probably doesn’t matter a great deal but if you want to be remembered well, you should live your life well. When you think about it, not only do your children choose your nursing home, they also might have a few choice words to remember you by.

Rick Cleveland on the disturbing trend in college basketball

Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss have seen defections from their basketball programs in the last few days. Some kids may have legitimate reasons for their actions but most have taken bad advice or simply have an inflated opinion of their abilities. Rick Cleveland of the Clarion Ledger gives his take on the situation.