The cemetery in the small desert town of Pahrump was such an eyesore. The cemetery looked like a dirt grated road with dirt speed bumps (graves). It was no wonder that people attempted any action to decorate or present a better enviroment. Some graves had nasty green outdoor carpet on them to simulate grass while others had regular carpet of all types and stains, some spread broken bricks or decorative desert rock, and others actually spray painted the top of the dirt white. It looked awful and was hurtful to some of those who had the next plot. One lady stood over the grave of her newborn baby, covering it with a pink blanket held down by rocks in the corners. She commented negatively on the plot next to it which was covered by green spray paint. Despite her lovely blanket, I’m sure she did not look ahead and imagine what the blanket would look like after several months in the arid, hot weather and dirt. Due to this, I was always against decorations on gravesites. But my opinion recently changed. As I was driving past a cemetery in Las Vegas, my eyes caught some festive colors. As I looked closer I saw, literally, hundreds of helium balloons, all sizes, and flowers, celebrating Valentine’s Day. It was absolutely beautiful and heart warming at the same time. I guess it’s a matter of presentation. My mother recently passed away, and chose cremation. I bought a beautiful urn for her ashes. I think the urn is a decoration as well, and who am I to judge any decoration that gives another comfort. If people can place all types of crosses and plaques and flower wreaths along the highways as memorials for accidents, then cemeteries should have some leeway with decorations, too. A tasteful set of rules should be enough, but completely forbidding it seems cruel.
