Not So Bland

I was asked to take a walk the other day with some grand babies in order to burn off some energy.  Them, not me.  So we headed down the street to the cemetery.  Cemeteries are a great place to walk, they are quiet and seldom have traffic worries.  Besides the kids love to walk among the tombstones, look at the different shapes and small items left at the grave sides.  This particular stone got my attention:

"Bland" - adj. Dull, Insipid

Seeing such a name I had to go and investigate to see who was Bland.  The two markers in front are husband and wife.  Lucille Ann was born in 1898 and passed away in 1949 but her husband ....that's where it stops being Bland!  Tell me, what's wrong with this picture?

Mr. Clete Ernest Bland is either 128 years old or he stood his dear, departed wife up in the cemetery! "Sure honey, lets get matching tombstones and we'll spend all of eternity next to one another".  That's what they always say.  I did a little digging ... on the Internet, not in the cemetery ... and found this info:

Independence County, Arkansas - Oaklawn Cemetery

Double stone:
Belle B. Bland  December 24, 1880/March 12, 1967
Clete E. Bland  December 24, 1883/September 2, 1955

 Yes, I know that the Born date's off, but it's close enough.  Besides, how many Clete E. Blands can there be in the world?  You see what happened don't you?  Clete (age 67 ish) put his 51 year old wife in the ground in New Jersey and then ran off to Arkansas and met up with 69 year old Belle, probably out celebrating their birthdays together.  It was love at first (poor eye) sight and he forgets all about the little plot of ground in Pemberton.  I just can't help but wonder if there's another Bland - Double Stone somewhere.

Remember that promises made in this life are never erased or forgotten, even when our bodies are dead, buried and thoroughly rotten.  What ever you put your name to in earnest, whether on paper or stone, will last through the stages of all of the ages, and make all your intentions well known.


Chuck