My hometown has had a bit of drama lately.  I’ve been keeping up with the news through my hometown paper.

There is a very nice, large cemetery in my hometown. It is neatly kept. People walk out there. It’s really a place to be proud of.

A few months back, the new mayor in town began talking with the folks who take care of the cemetery. From what I gather, this mayor is trying to clean up some messes and his work is not always popular with the citizens. Some appreciate his work and others don’t.

However, I believe this mayor is trying his best. He seems to have knowledge of how things should work. He seems to be no-nonsense. In my opinion, he’s probably going to have to make some uncomfortable decisions to fix some problems.  Isn’t that usually the case?

Anyway, the guys out at the cemetery talked to the mayor.  They said they were tearing up equipment right and left. They had broken mowers and broken weed-eaters and the like. It was all because of the stuff folks put around the graves.

Now, I think it’s very nice when people decorate graves and make it a point to make sure gravesites are kept looking nice. I know folks who spend a great deal of time or mark their calendars each year so that they can visit gravesites and pay tribute to their loved ones.

But I also think some people over do it. Don’t you? There are numerous flowers, concrete statues, shepherds hooks, toys, etc. I am just wondering if it is all necessary. It’s a nice thought, don’t get me wrong.
So I guess some of the statues were falling over. Their heads were breaking off and rolling into the grass.

When weed-eaters meet angel heads, it can’t be pretty.

The city council guys got together and decided there needed to be some rules. Actually, there were already rules in place — they just weren’t being enforced. Ain’t that always the case with some things?

Well, the council decided the rules would be re-introduced to the public.  Apparently, the public was told of the rules and also told that the stuff on the gravesites would be taken off if it wasn’t picked up before a certain date. I think everyone was allowed maybe one shepherds hook and a couple of items on the gravestone itself.

The rules, to me, were still generous and still fair. And as I said, the public was told numerous times through the newspaper and local radio station reports.

You can imagine what happened when the deadline passed. The cemetery workers removed items and stacked them near the dumpster. They did not dispose of the items, but left them there in order for people to pick them up if they wanted. The public had been warned and the workers did as they were supposed to.

Oh my. There was an uproar!  Petitions went out. People accused everyone from the mayor on down of wrongdoing. A valuable medal was missing (and my question was always this: Why would you put a valuable medal on a gravestone?  Somebody is either going to swipe it or it will blow away.) People attended the city council meeting in droves.

In my opinion, it was all pretty ridiculous. There were people throwing fits who had good points, but really, the elected council was doing what it thought was best for the community. They were saving repair bills. They were cleaning things up.

Many people clearly got involved for the drama of it all, which turns my stomach. Those people who are always ready for an uproar or a big fight are a pain in the butt as far as I’m concerned.

And I always wonder what those who have passed on would say about all the hub bub?