sisters & brothers

this is one of the most unusual stories i’ve ever participated in. and it’s true. i’m only going to give you a shell of the experience here because it’s deeper implications will unfold themselves for a long time to come, and right now, i’m not really sure what it all means.

i know of a woman that lives in Dublin, Ireland. not a personal acquaintance but an internet friend. we have a few common interests, mainly pertaining to cemeteries and photography. if we were given the opportunity to sit and chat over pints of Guinness or pots of tea we’d probably cement a pretty solid friendship. i’m not saying that i don’t think we are good friends now, but it’s just that the distance of internet friendships creates voids of separation and unknowing that normal familial bonds cannot be founded upon.

still, i consider Mandie to be a sister. a soul sister. and what she and i did today, 5,000 miles apart from each other poured cement into the cracks in the pavement that separates the miles between us. a few months ago i wrote something on her Facebook wall, rather off the cuff but from the heart. I suggested that, to deal with some emotional conflict she was dealing with, that she “bury a doll” in her cemetery. that it would be a rite that could serve to work magically in the hidden places where she cannot speak to everyone that she misses. and i let it go at that.

but over the months we talked about it, the idea, bit by bit and loosely made a plan to do it. together. that we would, on the same day go to our cemetery and “bury a doll”. really though, there is so much more depth to this story that i can’t touch on now. partly because i’m typing this in the freezing morning air sitting outside Peets Coffee in Danville. no tables inside. and my fingers are freezing. also, battery is almost dead. and i have somewhere to be soon. and you all know how i like to write things out extensively and not summarize. i just can’t get into the right spirit now. so this is just to say that “i did it.” and I know Mandie did it too. she reported via mobile Facebook updates when she left her cemetery in Dublin. and just an hour ago i finished my ritual. below are my photos.