On a recent trip to the coast, we passed some time in the Oysterville Cemetery on the Long Beach peninsula. Oysterville is a charming and historic site with a long and interesting history and is well worth a visit.
The cemetery is a popular destination. A small group of friends celebrated another’s passing with wine, cheese and crackers. A father and son toured the historic section. Locals in a loud truck cruised through. After a snack and a restorative nap in the shade of mature trees, we browsed the Oysterville Cemetery’s stones and history.
Many other tombstone tourists have covered the Oysterville Cemetery as a destination more thoroughly than I will today. I’ll get to the point of my post: Michele Hutton, Elegantly Outrageous Thief of Hearts and Flowers.
On one hand, I was very happy to see Michele described this way. On the majority of memorials, people are described by what they did for a living or by their relationship to others (loving father and uncle, devoted wife and mother). Not Michele! She sounds like she would have been a fun person to know in life.
On the other hand, I was a little jealous of Michele. I personally would love to be described as an Elegantly Outrageous Thief of Hearts and Flowers, but I’m not one. I would like to be living my life in a way that could be described so positively. But many days I feel more like an Introverted Moderate Avoider of Risk and Pollen.
On a related note, I’m also a little jealous of Holly Blair, who “exploded into glitter and bats on August 17, 2020.” That’s how I want to go!
There’s nothing for it but to live life more fully! And live life in the way I want to be remembered.
Stump and Lamb explores personal growth and meaning via travels to pioneer cemeteries of the West.
This post was originally published at michellerau.com.
michelle rau 