Topic 97: On Grooves and Graves

Carol:

                       Lookin’ for Graves and Feelin’ Groovy
 So, Megan,I have this idea for a theme vacation. We talked about taking a road trip before you start your job, whatever and wherever that job is. We could just hit the blue highways on a journey without a destination.  Or, and this idea is just too cool, we could visit famous graveyards, preferably of people in the arts and letters. I know you’d like it because we have already experienced the thrill and awe of standing in the Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey. This would be the American version, and I wouldn’t mind including some of those ancestors I’ve been researching for the last three years.
 

Certainly, there is no American equivalent of “The Poet’s Corner,” but the biggest conglomeration of famous groovy but dead people is in Los Angeles County. Forest Lawn Cemetery is the eternal home to such celebrities as Gracie Allen, Gene Autry, Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Nat King Cole and Benji. Let’s be accurate here, Benji did not get his own tomb; his remains were put in the casket of his trainer, Frank Inn. Another notable cemetery is Westwood Memorial Park, the final resting place of such notables as Eddie Albert, Jim Backus, Rodney Dangerfield, and my beloved SF author Ray Bradbury. Ray Bradbury? He isn’t even dead yet. Futurist that he is, he has already reserved his plot. But, since we go to LA several times a year, I propose heading east instead. 

We can fly into Boston, rent a car and spend several weeks visiting the graves of some of our greatest American authors and musicians and still hunt for the graves of our not-so-famous relatives. I know how much you want to see the 9th great-grandfathers I’ve been researching.
 

Our first stop on the “groovin’ graves” theme trip can be Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Mass. To say a pilgrimage to Sleepy Hollow would be transcendant is, well, the literal truth. Located in Sleepy Hollow are the family plots of the Alcotts, the Emersons and the Thoreaus.  It is also the forever home of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ephraim Wales Bull, the original cultivator of the Concord grape. We have a lot of Bulls in our family—a lot of bull, too. Perhaps, Ephraim is a relative.
 

From there we would head down to New York, Brooklyn to be exact. Two cemeteries caught my attention.  First is Green-Wood Cemetery, home to Leonard Bernstein (section G, Lot 43642), inventor Samuel Morse (Section 25/32, Lot 57161-69), and Roger Williams --the famous religion guy not the famous piano guy. Green-Wood Cemetery itself is worth the visit because it is not only the highest point in Brooklyn, but it is a 478-acre National Historic Landmark. And, roll of drums, it is the forever home of my great-grandparents John Edwards and Emma Olssen Edwards, their oldest daughter Helen (all in Lot 4436 sec 101), Emma’s nephew William Olssen, his wife and their children (Lot 6429). I’m sure we would stumble across more Edwards and Olssen graves as we stroll through the beautiful grounds of Green-wood.
 

The second cemetery is also conveniently in Brooklyn, Woodlawn, which really adds the groove to graves. Instead of the aged rusticity of Sleepy Hollow, or the lush landscape of Green-wood, close your eyes and imagine the finger-snapping sounds of such jazz greats as Duke Ellington and  Miles Davis. Or hum the famous notes of “White Christmas” composer Irving Berling and “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” composer Johnny Marks. We might even do a little fox-trot around the graves of Irene and Vernon Castle before marching past Butternut Plot, everlasting home of George M. Cohan.
So, what do you think, Megan? 

 Source:
All information for daily theme 97 came from the grooviest grave site of them all, Findagrave.com.
http://www.findagrave.com

Megan: 

How grooves can become graves

When we pulled this topic, my mother and I both groaned. She reminded me that if we threw it back, we’d still have to deal with it eventually. “Maybe it’s an expression,” I said, “like ‘shit from shinola.’” That doesn’t seem to be the case, not according to Google anyway.

I could only find 4 results not related to our website or the book, and two were set in a religious context, one in a poem and one an apparent advertisement for an air conditioning unit, but reads like poorly translated science fiction. The poem makes sense, because alliteration can be a useful tool.

Somehow the spiritual references make sense too. “Don’t let your grooves become your graves” is the title of one. The suggestion seems to be that grooves and graves are both pits  in the ground into which you may fall, but only one need be permanent.

So, how does one prevent a groove from becoming a grave? The answer is not in the ensuing entry, which is about revivalist prayer. Instead, I’ll attempt to answer the question based on my own interpretation. 

First,  we must have definitions! I think we can all agree that a grave is a hole in the ground in which a dead body is placed. The word groove, however, has many different meanings. It seems to me that there are dangers which might affect any of the definitions and turn a groove into a grave. Let’s address them one by one:

1. a long narrow channel or depression
I was walking through some farmland once and came across a long irrigation channel at the end of the property. Instead of walking a mile to the next crossing, I decided to jump it. I underestimated the width of the groove, and began sliding down towards the icy water. Luckily, I managed to grab a handful of vines and stop my descent. Unluckiliy, the vines were stinging nettles. As I was hanging there in the side of the ditch, I tried to decide which would be a worse way to die – hypothermia from the water or stinging. Anyway, I managed to pull myself out eventually but my hands had a rash for days. 

2 a fixed routine : rut b : a situation suited to one's abilities or interests : niche

I need the routine of having a job -- something to keep me occupied or else I dissolve into a little puddle of inactivity. Ever since we started this website, the routine of writing daily is enough to keep me sort of focused on what else needs to be done. It feels like a job. But there’s no money. Or accountability. The past 7 months have disappeared into what feels like one long day. This is the one that will kill me.

3 top form <a great talker when he is in the groove>
I’m not sure what to say about this one… but top form is as high as you can go. If you think this is the best you can do, you’ll probably never do this well again. And then you’ll die. 

4 the middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit <a fastball right in the groove>
This is a very dangerous groove.  If you’re standing there, you could get hit by the ball or the bat or both and the force of contact could kill you.

5 an enjoyable or exciting experience
Ever heard the expression “too much of a good thing”? That’s right. It’s called an overdose, and people die from those all the time. 

6 a pronounced enjoyable rhythm
Has music ever killed anyone? I knew a prisoner once who got beat up for having his radio too loud. Just because you like the song doesn’t mean everyone else does. And then maybe they’ll kill you.