Remember in the news when the group of gravediggers were digging up and reselling plots?
I wrote this on the day that it happened:
"I found that the Burr Oak cemetary scandal effects me a lot more than I'd like it to. My mother is buried there. A lot of feelings popped up when I heard the news about the terrible acts that the workers committed. I went on google earth to see the location, and sure enough, the are gaping holes, indicating that the digging process is underway, trying to identify the remains of the loved ones who have been disturbed. I went right back to 8 years old in my head, back when she died....I remembered her death, her funeral, the procession, every little detail...even the song in my head that I hummed to comfort myself, Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Funny, when her birthday comes, I remember her taking me to Disney and laughing and smiling with my dad. When someone potentially unearths her, I remember the drama of the circumstances surrounding her death, how my dad plummeted into a life of alcoholism, losing his young, beautiful bride to a heart attack before his very eyes. I remember my dad carrying my mom out of the house as she gasped for air and as dad threw me the car keys, hoping I would open the door. Everything in me wanted to open that car door, but my hands were trembling. Dad smiled and opened the door with one hand as he gently placed my mom in the front seat. In retrospect, the feces I smelled was my mother's last pass at life, but as we drove just a few blocks, we all pleaded for her to "come on". I remember the hazard lights on my dad's Oldsmobile as he whizzed through traffic to get to the hospital. I remember the chaos that ensued as we pulled up and how my 4 y/o sister and I were put in a private room so we couldn't see the paddles, the pleading of my father, the tears....I saw it all, even when they thought I didn't.
I shouldn't have to be forced to remember these events. Those memories were in the recesses of my mind, there with every other painful thing that has happened in my life. I have peace knowing that my mom is with God.
I pray for accountability for all parties involved. Since there are still forensic and digs going on, all familes are in a holding pattern, waiting for confirmation. I hope my mom is right where we left her 25 years ago. "
Thank God, she is where we left her. *Confirmed November, 09*
