Cemeteries

I've decided I like cemeteries. Aesthetically, anyway. The green shrubbery and marble tombstones, markings, and small mausoleums are as close as we've got nowadays to ancient marble temples of old. I find them very pretty. My dad disagrees, but then, he wasn't really in the state of mind to appreciate them this very moment.

The cemetery we had the service at was a Jewish one, and very nice (if rather crowded in the run-up to the high holidays). It's testament to an excellent design that it managed to still feel serene even though it was located right next to a rather major thoroughfare, as well as lying underneath approach paths for both JFK international and an US Air Force base. It also had street names, most of which were named after various Jewish luminaries (Brandeis, Heschel), but one main drag which was named after Lincoln. I assume it's Abe they're referring too--it's not as if "Lincoln" is a very common Jewish last name. I thought that was touching, to me anyway; I like when Jews define our experience and history, even internally, in as broad and inclusive strokes as possible.