It has been challenging at times, to ignore the nearly incessant noise of traffic passing beneath my windows. The clamor is so loud at times, it drowns out the TV whenever I happen to be watching a movie in the evening. Tractor trailers, macho trucks, motorcycles, RV’s, and sirens make up the din that I must listen to on a daily basis. Yesterday, I decided to resume walking again, which I have let slide since March, because my gardening has consumed most of my time and energy. Walking in this town is not a pleasant experience. The sidewalks are intermittent so that you may walk on one for a block and then it disappears; so you end up having to walk in the street. The town’s park is small and rather boring, requiring two times around in order to have a substantial walk.
I decided to drive to the cemetery. It is bordered on one side by a golf course and on the other, by a field, so it was surprisingly quiet. The constant flapping of tires hitting pavement, from the adjacent highway, was distant and easy to ignore. The trees were large and mostly evergreen, lending a faint pine scent to the air. I have spent very little time in cemeteries, but I have discovered they are the quietest places I enjoyed looking at the many different headstones and the way in which they had been decorated. Each was a portrayal of individuality, similar to the front yards in an older neighborhood like this one, where each house is distinct in its dis-similarities and unlike the rows and rows of tract houses in newer suburbs.
I thoroughly enjoyed my walk as I crisscrossed the tiny roads through the cemetery. The air was cool, only in the low 60’s.(℉) but the sun was shining and the wind had stopped for a time. Several squirrels looked at me expectantly, but I had not thought to bring peanuts on my walk. Those squirrels, I thought, are fortunate to live on this prime piece of real estate, where they do not have to cross the road and risk being run over. Now that I have discovered the cemetery, I should like to spend every day walking there, where life is serene and feels removed from the chaos of our modern world. In fact, if I have the opportunity to purchase property again, I would like it to be next to a cemetery because I know that the neighbors would be very quiet and considerate. I cannot think of a quieter place to walk, than in a cemetery.
