Cache at the Cemetery

[Knight-Errant]

One of the first questions to be asked (as has been addressed in other threads), "Is it LEGAL to place a cache in that cemetary?" Several states and counties have laws against placing caches in cemetaries. If it is not legal, that ends the question.

[+tzipora]

I don't have a problem with being in a cemetery. I don't have a problem with a well-placed cache in a cemetery.

 

Then again, I might not be the best person to ask. My uncle has been the groundskeeper at a local cemetery since I was a little girl. We'd go over there to visit with him. Sometimes he even let us drive the ride-on lawnmower. I don't remember ever being there when he was filling a hole in, but I do remember him digging some.

[+scarhill]

I also like cemeteries and cemetery caches. It's never a quick, sign the log and leave for me. I look at dates and say aloud names when I walk in cemeteries. Perhaps it is the first time that name has been uttered in 200 years. When you think about it, what an amazing thing that verbalization then connects them to me and to our world. I found someone who was born 100 years before me and 200 years before me. I think of what life was like in those days and grieve a mother's loss of a child, even 100 years later. I taught my boys to ride their bikes in our little cemetery, when it was quiet and hoped they would bring joy if souls were about.

 

I am a hospice nurse and deal with death and dying every day. Young children cannot always be sheltered from the reality of life and death. I encourage my patients to have a stone with their name, so that a hundred years from now, they will be remembered and named, maybe by a geocacher:) Anne

 

PS. I don't like lamp post micro's...but that's another story. But lots of other people do.

[bkwrmi]

I think it can be okay, depending on how it's done. More sensitivity is obviously required if it's a graveyard where people are still being buried or you're likely to encounter grieving family and friends, but if it's a historical cemetery or the old section, where the graves are all at least a few decades old, you can have a little more leeway.

I would find an underground or buried cache to be tasteless.

As to being kid-friendly? I was regularly brought to the local cemetery as a child and although I don't feel I gained much from it, I wasn't traumatized either. Some churches have cemeteries or columbariums and guess what? The kids at the church often play in those areas. "Kid friendly" is relative and depends on the culture, time, place, and the attitudes people have.

[+Nazanne]

This sadly disabled cache encapsulates all the issues in this discussion. This is a small community cemetery. Things start out on the wrong foot because cemetery is spelled incorrectly on a large sign. Later somebody put up a sign that said ("Cemetary" sign photo available in the above link. See the logs for the below sign)

 

NOTICE

 

USE OF GPS TRACKING FOR TREASURE HUNTING IS PROHIBITED.

 

ALL OTHER FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT IS (sic) ALSO PROHIBITED.

 

PLEASE RESPECT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BURIED HERE.

 

The OP asked why cemeteries are kid friendly. This seems like an odd question to me. I truly don't understand it. Why aren't they kid friendly?

[+Nazanne]

Duplicate Post. Sorry, I can't see any way to delete my mistake.

Edited September 12, 2009 by Nazanne

[+Sol seaker]

What better way to teach your children how to respect cemeteries than to take them caching in a cemetery.

 

Surely you must be joking?

 

Respect for me, goes not to the cemetaries, but to the people in them visiting their dead relatives.

 

Yes, you're crying about your dead husband, but I really have to grab this cache for a first to find RIGHT NOW. So move aside.

 

What am I doing while you are mourning? Well I'm playing a game of course.

 

Is a cemetary really a place for games???

 

(I would make an exception for cemetaries over a hundred years old because there isn't a lot of chance of someone being there mourning their dearly recently departed)

[+mfamilee]

What better way to teach your children how to respect cemeteries than to take them caching in a cemetery.

Surely you must be joking?

 

Respect for me, goes not to the cemetaries, but to the people in them visiting their dead relatives.

 

Yes, you're crying about your dead husband, but I really have to grab this cache for a first to find RIGHT NOW. So move aside.

 

What am I doing while you are mourning? Well I'm playing a game of course.

 

Is a cemetary really a place for games???

 

(I would make an exception for cemetaries over a hundred years old because there isn't a lot of chance of someone being there mourning their dearly recently departed)

I like to think cachers would have enough respect not to search out a cache when someone is in the area mourning or visiting a loved one. It should be common sense. (I'm hoping!) Even though we really enjoy the cemetery caches... we would not even think of searching if we saw someone there. Instead we would come back.

[+the_bell_dingers]

mourners should mourn in peace.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

But don't people visit places like Arlington National Cemetery, Paris’ Pere Lachaise, all the cemeteries in New Orleans, and other such places for legitimate reasons other than "mourning their dearly recently departed"?

[+mfamilee]

But don't people visit places like Arlington National Cemetery, Paris’ Pere Lachaise, all the cemeteries in New Orleans, and other such places for legitimate reasons other than "mourning their dearly recently departed"?

Good point.

[+Parabola]

I'd have to agree that a responsible cacher if a service was going on, would skip that cache. I do like cemetery caches myself. Really the older one's, when the tombstones where carved by hand and the craftsmanship that went into making them.

 

I really can't image someone walking right in the middle of a service and saying excuse me, I need to look in that pine tree right there.

[+Hakali]

Im sorry its still not quite understanding to me. I have to discuss this with my real life friends and relatives and everybody that I know out of the cyber world and make up my mind. Until then I can't say anything. It will be a couple of weeks before I am done asking everybody! But still I dont think It is quite right! I guess I just have a different mentality then everybody else.

 

Well, in my case, my first cemetery cache was on a visit to the Oshkosh Airshow this past July ("Flying High" in Wisconsin). It was a very solemn caching experience, and I kept in mind the whole time a friend of mine who died in a plane crash while returning from the airshow three years ago....so much so that I left an RIP for him on the log. I found it to be a very different, very respectful caching experience.

[+Castle Mischief]

mourners should mourn in peace.

 

I don't think anybody has suggested otherwise.

[DiLMar]

Ok here is what I have come up with after talking to all of my friends and family. They all said pretty much the same thing.

The cemetery is not a place for fun. It is a resting place for those who have lived and passed. Honor them and let them Rest in peace.

 

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

[+Wogus!]

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

For whatever it's worth, it is mine as well.

I guess my thinking is if I have to ask myself if this would be a good location for a cache, or someone else for that matter... It's not.

[+webscouter.]

Ok here is what I have come up with after talking to all of my friends and family. They all said pretty much the same thing.

The cemetery is not a place for fun. It is a resting place for those who have lived and passed. Honor them and let them Rest in peace.

 

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

 

Yes because having someone walk around the gravestones might wake them up.

 

In all reality when I pass if my soul can sense people around my mortal body then I don't want to spend eternity without people coming by. How lonely would that be.

 

My kids are going to pay a fortune for the massive monument to me placed at my gravesite. I want as many people to see it and comment on how rich and powerful, important and monumental I must have been.

 

When I die you all come look for the cache at my headstone. It will be a puzzle container build into the stone National Treasure style

[+the_bell_dingers]

what I meant was the cacher should come back after the mourner is gone. with the exception of the big cemeteries, like Arlington.

[+baloo&bd]

Ok here is what I have come up with after talking to all of my friends and family. They all said pretty much the same thing. The cemetery is not a place for fun. It is a resting place for those who have lived and passed. Honor them and let them Rest in peace.

 

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

 

Two suggestions;

 

Check out 'Your Guide to Cemetery Research By Sharon Debartolo Carmack'. The last chapter is devoted to gathering and picnics at cemeteries.

 

Also check out ancestory.com page on 'Taking the "Scary" out of Locating Cemeteries'. While it does not go into the specifics of how we in the US used to have picnics and gatherings at cemeteries, it does touch on how some cultures do.

 

I'm respectful when I go to these areas, the same way I am in my neighborhood. I understand that these places scare some people, however do not turn your fears into others being disrespectful.

Edited September 14, 2009 by baloo&bd

[PastorJon]

What better way to teach your children how to respect cemeteries than to take them caching in a cemetery.

 

Surely you must be joking?

 

Respect for me, goes not to the cemetaries, but to the people in them visiting their dead relatives.

 

Yes, you're crying about your dead husband, but I really have to grab this cache for a first to find RIGHT NOW. So move aside.

 

 

But a parent, who was teaching a child about respect wouldn't do what you just suggested. They would say something like, "well, we're going to put our agendas and plans aside today, because that lady's needs are more important than ours."

 

That's actually a pretty good teaching moment in my book. (However, if the parent did what you suggested, then they're teaching a completely different lesson altogether!)

 

But again... if you don't like cemetery caches, then don't hide or hunt them.... or take your children hunting or hiding them.

[knowschad]

What better way to teach your children how to respect cemeteries than to take them caching in a cemetery.

Surely you must be joking?

Yes, you're crying about your dead husband, but I really have to grab this cache for a first to find RIGHT NOW. So move aside.

What am I doing while you are mourning? Well I'm playing a game of course.

 

 

You haven't really cached in any cemeteries, have you? Your imagination is running amuck.

[knowschad]

Ok here is what I have come up with after talking to all of my friends and family. They all said pretty much the same thing. The cemetery is not a place for fun. It is a resting place for those who have lived and passed. Honor them and let them Rest in peace.

 

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

 

Two suggestions;

 

Check out 'Your Guide to Cemetery Research By Sharon Debartolo Carmack'. The last chapter is devoted to gathering and picnics at cemeteries.

 

Also check out ancestory.com page on 'Taking the "Scary" out of Locating Cemeteries'. While it does not go into the specifics of how we in the US used to have picnics and gatherings at cemeteries, it does touch on how some cultures do.

 

I'm respectful when I go to these areas, the same way I am in my neighborhood. I understand that these places scare some people, however do not turn your fears into others being disrespectful.

 

 

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf...at_harrisb.html

 

 

 

Members of the Civil War Dance Foundation on Sunday held a picnic at a "table grave" in Harrisburg Cemetery during the annual "History Comes Alive" tours of the historic burial frounds at 13th and Liberty streets.

 

Picnics in cemeteries were common in the era, the foundation members told visitors.

 

In the 19th century, families would often visit cemeteries to tend relatives' graves, scrub stones, trim shrubs and arrange flowers and greens, then have a picnic, they said.

 

Table graves, which are the height of picnic tables, were the most common place for this Victorian tradition.

 

[+Castle Mischief]

Anybody that's knuckle-headed enough to disturb a mourning relative will no doubt find some way to be just as inappropriate in another situation. They are accidents waiting to happen. They don't need geocaching as an excuse.

 

Here's the standard verbiage that I include in all my cemetery caches:

 

There is no need to enter the cemetery or disturb any of the gravestones or plots. Please be respectful and confine your search outside of the fenced area. Please come back later if a service is in progress.

 

It makes it clear that 1) the cache is near a cemetery, 2) the cache is not IN the cemetery, 3) just in case you need to be told- don't bother people mourning.

[+Renegade Knight]

...NOTICE

 

USE OF GPS TRACKING FOR TREASURE HUNTING IS PROHIBITED.

 

ALL OTHER FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT IS (sic) ALSO PROHIBITED.

 

PLEASE RESPECT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BURIED HERE....

 

In other words unless you are bored silly, you are in violation.

[+Renegade Knight]

...

There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

 

That's a crap argument. However it's a common tactic to justify bans of all kinds. The truth is there is no "need" for most things beyond a place to sleep and food ot eat. However if you take life down it's it's boring basics you might actually start seeing the need for us to live at a higher level, or at least to have the hope of doing so.

 

A cache in a cemetary is part of an activity that dovetails well with the other enjoyment folks get out of cemetaries (if there were not enjoyment they woudln't exist would they becasue when you get right down to it there is no "need" for them, rather we seem to like them enough to create them when you could just as easily creamate everone, or grind them up into mulch and use them as fertilizer.

[+Castle Mischief]

...or grind them up into mulch and use them as fertilizer.

 

With the incresing cost of a "green cemetery" plot, I'd actually prefer this. Just toss me into the chipper.

[+Team A & M]

We are saving the cemetery caches for the fall (which is never coming since it's still 80 degrees here in Wisconsin). We are all really looking forward to them. I have always loved cemeteries and the history they carry. I think they're ok, and that they're a great way to learn.

[+Team A & M]

Well, in my case, my first cemetery cache was on a visit to the Oshkosh Airshow this past July ("Flying High" in Wisconsin). It was a very solemn caching experience, and I kept in mind the whole time a friend of mine who died in a plane crash while returning from the airshow three years ago....so much so that I left an RIP for him on the log. I found it to be a very different, very respectful caching experience.

 

Congrats on your first cemetery cache here in Oshkosh!

[+okie-wan]

This is a game. Games are to be played in playgrounds. Play=Playground. Get it?

Are you telling me that the world is too small for this game and we need to PLAY in our cemeteries?

It is disrespecful and morally wrong!

[+bittsen]

This is a game. Games are to be played in playgrounds. Play=Playground. Get it?

Are you telling me that the world is too small for this game and we need to PLAY in our cemeteries?

It is disrespecful and morally wrong!

 

What do you do on a golf course? Football field? Baseball diamond? Swimming pool? Lake? Stream? Trail? Etc...

 

Why should an area where lifeless corpses are hidden 6 feet below ground level be off-limits for any "play" activity, assuming respect is observed?

 

Please define how it's disrespectful and morally wrong in any logical, non emotional, sense.

Edited September 15, 2009 by bittsen

[+Wogus!]

... There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

That's a crap argument. However it's a common tactic to justify bans of all kinds.

Since I made a comment in support of DiLMar's post, I'd simply like to point out that:

 

1. It's not a "crap argument" in the least. I'm not attempting to make policy I'm stating an opinion. There is simply no argument being made, "crap" or otherwise.

2. No one appears to be advocating a ban of any kind; I was stating my opinion and nothing in DiLMar's post that I see advocates anything of the kind either.

 

I don't find the concept [of caching in a cemetery] either morally or ethically reprehensible, mind you, I simply prefer not to geocache in cemeteries due to my own personal feelings on the matter, so I don't: Simple as that. Nor do I feel the need to justify, explain or rationalize my feeling's on the subject to anyone. I simply find the idea distasteful.

[+okie-wan]

Pay me no mind.

These are just the ramblings of an old veteran who was born in the ''40's and grew up in the '50's and '60's.

People had respect for each other, their country, and our flag. I keep forgetting the huge generation gap and the downward spiral of morals today.

Cemeteries? Sure, why not? Have fun! Fireworks, picnics, four wheeling, who cares? They are dead right?

[knowschad]

Pay me no mind.

These are just the ramblings of an old veteran who was born in the ''40's and grew up in the '50's and '60's.

People had respect for each other, their country, and our flag. I keep forgetting the huge generation gap and the downward spiral of morals today.

Cemeteries? Sure, why not? Have fun! Fireworks, picnics, four wheeling, who cares? They are dead right?

 

 

Me, born 1949, grew up in the 50's and 60's. I have no problem with cemetery caches. I would, of course, have a problem with any cachers that drove in, slammed on their brakes, jumped out and started hooting and hollering, but that is the cachers, not the cache.

 

 

You know, I seriously doubt that anyone has ever changed their opinions about cemetery caching because of these threads. This is a deeply ingrained, highly charged cultural and religious issue.

[+Castle Mischief]

Pay me no mind.

These are just the ramblings of an old veteran who was born in the ''40's and grew up in the '50's and '60's.

People had respect for each other, their country, and our flag. I keep forgetting the huge generation gap and the downward spiral of morals today.

Cemeteries? Sure, why not? Have fun! Fireworks, picnics, four wheeling, who cares? They are dead right?

 

People have been picnicking and playing in cemeteries for hundreds of years in Europe and North America. This might be a generation gap issue, but not in the sense that you're applying it.

 

There need not be sober teary-eyed grieving for there to be respect. Would you have us rend our clothes at every battleground and tear at our hair at every memorial?

[knowschad]

Would you have us rend our clothes at every battleground and tear at our hair at every memorial?

Don't you do that already?

[GOF and Bacall]

... There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

That's a crap argument. However it's a common tactic to justify bans of all kinds.

Since I made a comment in support of DiLMar's post, I'd simply like to point out that:

 

1. It's not a "crap argument" in the least. I'm not attempting to make policy I'm stating an opinion. There is simply no argument being made, "crap" or otherwise.

2. No one appears to be advocating a ban of any kind; I was stating my opinion and nothing in DiLMar's post that I see advocates anything of the kind either.

 

I don't find the concept [of caching in a cemetery] either morally or ethically reprehensible, mind you, I simply prefer not to geocache in cemeteries due to my own personal feelings on the matter, so I don't: Simple as that. Nor do I feel the need to justify, explain or rationalize my feeling's on the subject to anyone. I simply find the idea distasteful.

 

I can appreciate your feelings on the subject. You don't want to cache in a cemetery and that's fine.

 

Now, just because I like to understand things, can you explain what you find distasteful about it? Even without caching I have been known to stop at old cemeteries to see the stones and reflect on they lives they represent. What was the world like when these people were born and how did it change during their life time?

[+Renegade Knight]

... There a too many other places for cache and there is really no need for caching at the cemeteries. But that is just my opinion.

That's a crap argument. However it's a common tactic to justify bans of all kinds.

Since I made a comment in support of DiLMar's post, I'd simply like to point out that:

 

1. It's not a "crap argument" in the least. I'm not attempting to make policy I'm stating an opinion. There is simply no argument being made, "crap" or otherwise. ...

 

By all means please build a logical and defensable case for not caching in one location because plenty of other locations exist. When you do, be sure to address that the folks involved with those other locations may feel that cemetaries are in fact also part of the plenty of other locations they are thinking about when they are busy making the identical case.

[+Wogus!]

Now, just because I like to understand things, can you explain what you find distasteful about it? Even without caching I have been known to stop at old cemeteries to see the stones and reflect on they lives they represent. What was the world like when these people were born and how did it change during their life time?

I can try... LOL...

 

Cemeteries, while they do not need to be places where we don sackcloth and seat ourselves among ashes, do, by their very nature, engender quiet reflection and a consideration that goes beyond the norm. While they may be places we can also appreciate on other levels (historical, etc.), this simple fact remains foundational; that fact being that this place is "One of Those Places" where, for just a brief moment, we set aside our own personal feelings and desires for fun, adventure, and what have you. In short, cemeteries are one of Humanities "Special Places".

 

Death is still the Great Mystery of Life itself, regardless of how one's religiosity or philosophy might resolve that Mystery. Death is the common end to us all and even if one person doesn't feel a certain way about Death, some do. Because we live in a polite society, we bend our actions to accommodate others wishes at times. As my Mom once explained to me, "Common courtesy is nothing more than putting someone else's feelings ahead of our own for just a little while."

 

Being one of Humanities "Special Places" a cemetery is, or should be in my opinion, afforded a certain degree of special consideration. Furthermore, We demonstrate and reinforce the "specialness" (for lack of a better word off the top of my head) of a place by, and with our, behavior. Geocaching is, simply put and again in my opinion, at odds with the raison d'être of a cemetery. I think 'caching in a cemetery shows a lack of consideration for those who come to visit, and for the remains of it's permanent residents.

 

Thank you for asking, by the way.

 

By all means please build a logical and defensable case for not caching in one location because plenty of other locations exist. When you do, be sure to address that the folks involved with those other locations may feel that cemetaries are in fact also part of the plenty of other locations they are thinking about when they are busy making the identical case.

I'm not going to attempt to "build a logical and defensable case" [sic] because it's not possible to do so. We're not discussing a logical issue here and people respond at very deep levels to things beyond logic. The lack of a logical foundation does not in any way diminish the significance, importance or reality of these issues, however.

 

It appears as though you are attempting to present a case yourself, by making it appear as if there is no other case to be made, beyond a logical apprehension of the facts. Life is not that simple.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Jupiter_Jack

[+bittsen]

Cemeteries, while they do not need to be places where we don sackcloth and seat ourselves among ashes, do, by their very nature, engender quiet reflection and a consideration that goes beyond the norm. While they may be places we can also appreciate on other levels (historical, etc.), this simple fact remains foundational; that fact being that this place is "One of Those Places" where, for just a brief moment, we set aside our own personal feelings and desires for fun, adventure, and what have you. In short, cemeteries are one of Humanities "Special Places".

 

Death is still the Great Mystery of Life itself, regardless of how one's religiosity or philosophy might resolve that Mystery. Death is the common end to us all and even if one person doesn't feel a certain way about Death, some do. Because we live in a polite society, we bend our actions to accommodate others wishes at times. As my Mom once explained to me, "Common courtesy is nothing more than putting someone else's feelings ahead of our own for just a little while."

 

Being one of Humanities "Special Places" a cemetery is, or should be in my opinion, afforded a certain degree of special consideration. Furthermore, We demonstrate and reinforce the "specialness" (for lack of a better word off the top of my head) of a place by, and with our, behavior. Geocaching is, simply put and again in my opinion, at odds with the raison d'être of a cemetery. I think 'caching in a cemetery shows a lack of consideration for those who come to visit, and for the remains of it's permanent residents.

 

Thank you for asking, by the way.

 

And my opinion is that I disagree.

 

There is nothing "special" about a lifeless body, per se. The grieving feel better believing there is something special. The reality is that, with all of the progresses of man, we are still emotional creatures. There is nothing logically "sacred" about a lifeless body. The reality is that by burying a human corpse, you minimize possibilities of spreading disease.

 

The "logic" behind cemetaries is they are set aside so disease doesn't spread. The bodies are buried 6 feet deep so that they can't be disturbed by wild animals, therefore additionally minimizing the chance of spread of disease.

 

However, the ground atop a cemetary, logically speaking, is no different than the ground in your front yard.

 

Many of the problems in society are based on emotional laws. Logical laws make sense and help everyone. Emotional laws are the ones that set people apart. Emotional laws can be made about everything and that is, a problem.

 

There is nothing "wrong" with caching on land designated to be the place for the disposal of human remains as long as the "logical" laws pertaining to human disposal have been followed.

[+Wogus!]

And my opinion is that I disagree.

I'm entirely fine with that. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion.

[+Harry Dolphin]

ALL OTHER FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT IS (sic) ALSO PROHIBITED.

 

'All' is a singular pronoun. It properly takes the verb 'is'. The sign uses correct English. Why would anyone paint the word '(sic)' on it? If it had said "All other forms of entertainent are also prohibited", then it would be incorrect, and the use of (sic) would be appropriate.

 

That being said, why are we beating this dead horse again? In my opinion (to restate every time this thread is revived), I find cemetery caches to be very disrespectful of the deceased. They go on my Ignore List. In fact, I have no respect for geocachers who hide such caches, and they usually go on my ignore list.

Dance on graves if you wish. Personally, I think such caches should be prohibited.

 

Let's see. It should be another week before someone else starts up this thread again.

[+Unkle Fester]

Would you have us rend our clothes at every battleground and tear at our hair at every memorial?

Don't you do that already?

Jeez, now I feel offended because I don't have andy hair to pull out... Did you not see my avatar? Can you not be a little more respectful of those of us without any hair? (sorry, knowschad. Just making a point at your expense)

 

I'm a vereran. I love my family, past and prestent. I love my country, even when we lose the moral high ground. But I remember as a kid, we used to stop at graveyards and do headstone rubbings - often. How is this any different than caching? It's still something done for fun. I remember one time rubbing a little too quick near the edge of the paper and the crayon smeared a little on the headstone. I just about freaked out that I had been disrespectful. I was about 5. It took my mom a little to calm me down and show me how easily it cleaned up and that it was OK.

 

It's the behavior and the intent that makes the activity disrespectful. If I came skidding to a stop, jumped out and went marching down the row, pushed through a funeral service and said "I gotta get that FTF", I'm convinced my mother in her late 60's would pop out from behind a tree and give me a whooping to beat the band for disrespecting both the mourners and the deceased. It's the way you are raised that dictates your behavior. My children, Princess Cali (8) and Mighty Warrior (4) both enjoy cemetary caches. They have fun walking and looking. Some of the stones are quite beautiful. The cache is just a bonus. Each graveyard has a unique story to tell, a seperate place in the history of a community. If my kids get disrespectful, I correct them. As a parent that is my job.

 

The whole reason for a headstone is for people to see it, to share with the world someones loss.

 

Now, when we show up and people are there, we wander and look, or just simply move on.

[GOF and Bacall]

Now, just because I like to understand things, can you explain what you find distasteful about it? Even without caching I have been known to stop at old cemeteries to see the stones and reflect on they lives they represent. What was the world like when these people were born and how did it change during their life time?

I can try... LOL...

 

Cemeteries, while they do not need to be places where we don sackcloth and seat ourselves among ashes, do, by their very nature, engender quiet reflection and a consideration that goes beyond the norm. While they may be places we can also appreciate on other levels (historical, etc.), this simple fact remains foundational; that fact being that this place is "One of Those Places" where, for just a brief moment, we set aside our own personal feelings and desires for fun, adventure, and what have you. In short, cemeteries are one of Humanities "Special Places".

 

Death is still the Great Mystery of Life itself, regardless of how one's religiosity or philosophy might resolve that Mystery. Death is the common end to us all and even if one person doesn't feel a certain way about Death, some do. Because we live in a polite society, we bend our actions to accommodate others wishes at times. As my Mom once explained to me, "Common courtesy is nothing more than putting someone else's feelings ahead of our own for just a little while."

 

Being one of Humanities "Special Places" a cemetery is, or should be in my opinion, afforded a certain degree of special consideration. Furthermore, We demonstrate and reinforce the "specialness" (for lack of a better word off the top of my head) of a place by, and with our, behavior. Geocaching is, simply put and again in my opinion, at odds with the raison d'être of a cemetery. I think 'caching in a cemetery shows a lack of consideration for those who come to visit, and for the remains of it's permanent residents.

 

Thank you for asking, by the way.

 

 

Perhaps a couple of thought about what it is that geocaching is all about for me will explain my position on cemetery caches, even though you didn't ask. The two major things that drew me in and hooked me on this hobby are the places it takes me to that I didn't know about and probably wouldn't without caching, and the people I get to meet. Look at the first part and consider that I think a cemetery is a much more appropriate place to cache than a parking lot. It isn't about the box full of McToys or a new smiley for my collection.

 

A cemetery is a place to celebrate the lives of those who rest there. Forest Lawn in Buffalo has tours and other events through out the summer. A recent event in celebration of women's equality included a play, poetry, music and humor as parts of the program.

[PastorJon]

ALL OTHER FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT IS (sic) ALSO PROHIBITED.

 

'All' is a singular pronoun. It properly takes the verb 'is'. The sign uses correct English. Why would anyone paint the word '(sic)' on it? If it had said "All other forms of entertainent are also prohibited", then it would be incorrect, and the use of (sic) would be appropriate.

 

 

Not entirely accurate.

 

"All" is either singular or plural, depending on what it references. Consider the following:

 

All of the people at the park are having fun. "Are" is used, because "people" is plural.

 

OR

 

All of the house is on fire. "Is" is used, because "house" is singular.

 

Had the sign said "All other entertainment is prohibited," it would have been correct.

 

But it said, "All other forms of entertainment is prohibited." And so I would disagree with your assessment. It seems that the verb would need to link with the word "forms," and so "are" would be the correct choice.

[+dakin55]

Caches in cemeteries, I have visited many since I started this addiction.I have visited alot of grave markers that probably have not been visited in along time. I have thought about the people buried at depth as I play my little game. looking at the hardships of bad medicine, tough times early deaths. Is this disrespectful, I do not think so, I have passed by many a cache because others have been in the cemetery, I have left early because I have seen others arrive. So caching in cemeteries is fine and I have taken my grandkids with me to try to teach them some history and so they understand a ritual of death that many of us use. I also teach them to respect the graveyard and the headstones and to remember this place is designed to help us remember and not forget those who died before us. Cemeteries represent family bonds that I think Geocaching strengthens , so to take a child to a cemetery to visit a dead body is about the same as a cache, if I is acceptable for one then the other should be as well. IMO

[knowschad]

By all means please build a logical and defensable case

 

 

Oh, good grief!! This is a forum, not a court of law. People have every right to post opinions here. Give the guy a break will you?

[+Castle Mischief]

Dance on graves if you wish.

 

Yes, because this actually happens. Thanks for a post grounded in reality.

 

 

 

'All' is a singular pronoun. It properly takes the verb 'is'. The sign uses correct English. Why would anyone paint the word '(sic)' on it? If it had said "All other forms of entertainent are also prohibited", then it would be incorrect, and the use of (sic) would be appropriate.

 

"All" and "other" are adjectives of the noun "forms". "Forms" is the subject of the sentence.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Castle Mischief

[+Wogus!]

By all means please build a logical and defensable case

Oh, good grief!! This is a forum, not a court of law. People have every right to post opinions here. Give the guy a break will you?

Actually, I covered the whole "logical/defensible" thing in my edit of Post #88.

 

The people screaming the loudest with their insistence of logical arguments, it seems to me, are trying to say a logical argument is inherently correct simply because it's logical; and that simply isn't so.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Jupiter_Jack

[+Castle Mischief]

There is nothing "special" about a lifeless body, per se. The grieving feel better believing there is something special. The reality is that, with all of the progresses of man, we are still emotional creatures. There is nothing logically "sacred" about a lifeless body. The reality is that by burying a human corpse, you minimize possibilities of spreading disease.

 

The "logic" behind cemeteries is they are set aside so disease doesn't spread. The bodies are buried 6 feet deep so that they can't be disturbed by wild animals, therefore additionally minimizing the chance of spread of disease.

 

However, the ground atop a cemetary, logically speaking, is no different than the ground in your front yard.

 

I agree that this was the basis for burial many years ago. Today's burial practices in North America have more in common with the canned produce aisle at the grocery store.

[+Renegade Knight]

...or grind them up into mulch and use them as fertilizer.

 

With the incresing cost of a "green cemetery" plot, I'd actually prefer this. Just toss me into the chipper.

I've told my kids to throw me out the back of an airplane and feed me to the wolves. There is a plan b if they can't pull it off.