I may have mentioned that I have a thing about cemeteries. They are so nice and quiet. I love to walk around looking at the monuments, wondering about the people buried there.

Columbia Gardens, near our temporary apartment in Arlington, Virginia is especially interesting. I believe it must be secular, because every faith under the sun seems to be represented.

You sometimes see this in Europe. For example, the Vienna Zentralfriedhof was considered progressive in its time because it included different sections for different faiths. But still, they are separated by broad asphalt avenues, as if the Jews and Muslims might give the Catholics cooties, or vice-versa. Here, they are all thrown in together, as they were in life.

Columbia Gardens is also reflective of the crazy mix that is the DC area. There are an amazing variety of surnames, and many tombstones proudly state the countries of origin of the people buried beneath them. It’s all very American.

Yeah, I love me a good cemetery on a sunny spring day.