The Hillside Graveyard

[Bowyn Aerrow]

For a couple three years I would go to Colma weekly or more often - the City of the Dead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colma,_California to visit the dead.

This was during a dark period of my life when I was struggling with many things on top of melancholia (whatever now simply calls depression). I did rubbings of the elder stones, and would walk around for hours reading names and dates getting a better idea of how short life really is.

I would take my violin and play in the mausoleums - great echo chambers. On nice foggy days I would play outside to the graves. There is something about how fog mutes the sound of the instrument I really like.

In jest I would say 'At least this audience can't run away!'

I also made friendships with a few of the cemetery/memorial park folk tenders and operators who allows me to play 'for the dead' as long as I kept from upsetting visitors. As far as I know none of the visiting living got upset.