So, I was looking for the obituary of a family friend (she was like an auntie to me) who died recently, and stumbled through several others who share her same sirname. Some of these women died in 1908, 1931, and 1975. It struck me as fascinating, pondering how all of their lifestyles were somewhat shaped by their respective eras. I mean, what was going on in 1908? I'll tell you...it was the first -ever-year for the ''ball drop'' in Times Square, to commorate the celebration of a new year. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! How about 1931? The Mukden Incident happened when Japanese troops were sent into Manchuria under the pretense of protecting a Japanese controlled railway where there had been an explosion. Japan soon took over the entirety of Manchuria. ... Japan would continue to occupy Manchuria until the end of World War II in 1945. (taken from the interwebz) I've also been a weird one for enjoying an afternoon of sauntering through random cemeteries with friends, noticing the various tombstones, marveling at how different everyone's lives were, some short...others, much longer. Do you ever look at random obituaries online or find cemeteries interesting enough to wander about? (Halloween is the best time to do this) Do tell your tales, and what you've learned.
I don't have a specific habit of wandering about cemeteries but I did once go to Norfolk Island and walked through the historical jail and adjacent cemetery, and was fascinated by such names as Thursday Christian, daughter of Fletcher and another named Quintal, one of his fellow mutineers. I also came across the grave site of Paul Gauguin the French artist on the Island of Hiva-Oa in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, during a stop over when crewing a Barquentine across the Pacific Ocean in 1974.
