Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929

Wyatt Earp is buried with his common law wife Josephine Sarah Marcus in Hills of Eternity Cemetery Colma, CA. Originally I had planned this post to be a writeup on the life of Wyatt but as I was doing research I realized that Wikipedia has a very extensive and well done semi biography. (Click to read). So what you will have here instead is just my general observations. Sometimes when I hear someone famous is buried somewhere I get to the grave and say "That's it?" Expecting something on a monumental scale and then you get just a normal stone that anyone else would have just walked past. This happened to be one of them. Not that Wyatt was rich or anything. I guess it just seems that famous people are put on this pedestal no matter the extent of their fame so you think you're going to see something magnificent when you get there. What you see here is just what Wyatt was. A normal person that did extraordinary things. That lived a hard life in the Old West with gunfights, bars, saloons and the occasional arrest for being into prostitution. There have been several accounts of Wyatt's life in biographies and even Hollywood movies. Probably the best known and coincidentally sold in the office of Hills of Eternity is the Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. They also made Tombstone starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in 1993. This list goes on and on but both were decent movies and worth watching some weekend when you have nothing better to do...

Postman's Park, London.

Postman’s Park is a small green space which is tucked away to the north of St Paul's Cathedral. Under the sheltered area is a wall commemorating ordinary people who lost their lives whilst trying to save others. In 1887 painter G F Watts (1817-1904), wrote to The Times proposing a project to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee of that year. He believed that stories of heroism were uplifting and should therefore be commemorated. His idea was not taken up so he created the memorial himself in the form of a 50ft long open gallery situated in the public gardens on the site of the former churchyard of St Botolph, Aldersgate. On the southern boundary was the Post Office and many postmen spent their breaks there, hence the name by which it became known. Along the walls of the gallery Watts placed tablets of Doulton tile, each describing the acts of bravery that resulted in the loss of the hero or heroine's life and celebrates people who would perhaps otherwise have been forgotten.

Some of the inscriptions include:
Henry James Bristow aged eight - at Walthamstow on December 30 1890 - saved his little sister's life by tearing off her flaming clothes but caught fire himself and died of burns and shock.

Mary Rogers, stewardess of the Stella, Mar 30 1899. Self sacrificed by giving up her life belt and voluntarily going down with the sinking ship.

William Drake, lost his life in averting a serious accident to a lady in Hyde Park April 2 1869 whose horses were unmanageable through the breaking of the carriage pole.

John Clinton aged 10 who was drowned near London Bridge in trying to save a companion younger than himself. July 16 1894.

Joseph Andrew Ford aged 30, Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Saved six persons from a fire in Gray's Inn Road but in his last heroic act he was scorched to death. Oct 7 1871.

Thomas Griffin, fitter’s labourer April 12 1899. In a boiler explosion at a Battersea sugar refinery was fatally scalded in returning to search for his mate.

Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999)

Most of the time when I profile a specific person it's necessary to spend a ton of time researching what they did to make them sound important. Well still some may not know Joe DiMaggio or even care who he his because they think baseball is stupid. But come on people it's Joe freakin DiMaggio. One of the greatest players to ever play the game. I've known where he was buried for the longest time but was never in the area to swing by and take the pictures. So a couple weeks ago I just decided to take the two hour drive out to Colma, CA and get the pics.

Joe had a huge resume of baseball accomplishments. He was a 3 time MVP and 13 time All-Star. He is best known for his 56 game hitting streak and at one time was voted Sport's Greatest Living Player. Joe was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr in Martinez, CA. The 8th of 9 children born to Italian immigrants Giuseppe (1872–1949) and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio. Joe's father Giuseppe was a fisherman by trade and managed to work his way from Ellis Island to where he eventually settled. A town some of my friends may know Pittsburg, CA. Giuseppe worked hard and after 4 years he sent for his wife and oldest daughter. Giuseppe hoped that his 4 sons would become fisherman like himself and generations of DiMaggios before them. Joe would have nothing to do with it as the smell of rotten fish nauseated him. Joe would rather be p
be playing baseball. And really who could blame him? Joe's father couldn't see any reason why playing a game could lead to a successful life. These were old times and if you weren't working hard you weren't going to survive.

Joe was playing semi pro baseball when his brother Vince was playing for the San Francisco Seals. The seals were down a shortstop and Vince talked the manager into allowing Joe to fill in. Joe made his professional debut October 1, 1932 however his major league debut came May 3, 1936 with the Yankees. He led them to 9 titles over his 13 year career. He was also the first player to be signed to a contract worth more than $100,00. Quite a contrast to today's contracts which offer several million for basically doing nothing. The league minimum was $400,000 in 2009. A ridiculous amount for sitting on the bench.

I could go on all day listing his accomplishments but like I said before. Do I really need to say any of this? Doesn't everyone know who Joe was? The DiMaggio descendants and relatives are still scattered throughout my hometown of Pittsburg, CA and I can't help but think of Joltin' Joe every time I see the DiMaggio name. Sadly Joe succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 85 March 8, 1999.

Hands - City of London Cemetery

Hands - when clasped this is a symbol of farewell, some even have ‘Until we meet again’ inscribed below them. For anyone interested in the meaning of grave symbolism I have compiled an alphabetical photo book called The Lost Language of Cemeteries available here: http://www.lulu.com/content/5574501

Shrouded figure, Paris.

I am fascinated by shrouded figures and this fellow was no exception. I discovered him in Paris.

Yet Another Mystery

Inside Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, CA there is what I refer to as "The Big Tree Thing" I have only been able to find one reference to it on the internet. It appears in a book called Alive in Necropolis and is referred to as "The Fern Grotto". There is definitely a stone structure underneath it all. Peering around the side I can see what looks to have been a walkway with a handrail made of tree branches. There is also an old bench that I could see looking over the edge. I know it's somebody's last resting place but who's? I talked to another person that visits here regularly and she said that not even staff can tell her who is buried here. I'd estimate the structure somewhere between 40 and 60ft tall. Around the side it has a gate with a sign that of course says "Caution Keep Out". It looks like one of these days when nobody is looking I'll have to risk life and limb to jump the fence and see what's in there.

This is a picture of the foliage that has crept up over the side of the structure over many years. I love this structure but I'd still like to know the story that goes with it. I'm hoping someone out there can tell me a little something about it.

Bee Hive memorial, Chingford Mount Cemetery, Essex UK.

A Beehive from Chingford Mount cemetery Essex. A bee hive donates knowledge and was also a Masonic symbol.