EDITORIAL HONORING THE PAST CEMETERY PARK CAN BOTH RESPECT THE DEPARTED - AND CELEBRATE LIFE.AT first blush Adv. 1. at first blush - as a first impression; "at first blush the offer seemed attractive" when first seen , the gallivanting that goes on at Ventura's Cemetery Memorial Park seems shocking: People literally dancing on the graves of the departed. Children playing Album Info
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adj. 1. Sanctified; consecrated: a hallowed cemetery. 2. Highly venerated; sacrosanct: our hallowed war heroes. ground. Dogs gamboling on the grassy grass·y adj. grass·i·er, grass·i·est 1. Covered with or abounding in grass. 2. Resembling or suggestive of grass, as in color or odor. Adj. 1. slopes where mourners once gathered in grief. But, with all respect to the memory of those buried bur·y tr.v. bur·ied, bur·y·ing, bur·ies 1. To place in the ground: bury a bone. 2. a. To place (a corpse) in a grave, a tomb, or the sea; inter. b. long ago at the site and their families, that's what happens at a public park. Some say it's a desecration that this historical burial ground Burial Ground Aceldama potter’s field; burial place for strangers. [N. T.: Matthew 27:6–10, Acts 1:18–19] Alloway graveyard where Tam O’Shanter saw witches dancing among opened coffins. [Br. Lit. is being used as a park, and would like to see it closed and restored to its former cemetery status. Not only is it absurd to rob the public of one of the always too-few places for recreation, it's not necessarily feasible to restore. This cemetery, established as a Catholic burial ground in 1862, hasn't been in use for more than 60 years. Many of the headstones are missing, and the city is not even certain of the locations of the thousands buried there. Some could be under the parking lot. The Ventura City Council's decision to set up a memorial to recognize the history of the site and the people buried there is a fair and reasonable solution. This would allow park visitors to learn about the history of the ground on which they are walking, but not kick them out altogether. Allowing Memorial Park to remain a park for the public's enjoyment doesn't have to be desecration. Certainly there's a way for the community to craft a memorial that honors the departed while it also encourages the celebration of life. |
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