Grave Matters

Tombstone.2 is now installed in my family cemetery. I'd ordered it a few weeks ago, an event duly noted by Roanoke Times columnist Dan Casey.

Here are some pictures of the arrival and installation:

The Smith Family Cemetery. The corner at right is my spot.

My stone will go in this corner—where the original was.

While I tidied up around the space, a buzzard watched.

Before long the truck arrived.
I was second on their list that morning.

The truck had to go to the far corner of the field to get to the graveyard.

It's halfway to the graveyard here.

One worker scrapes down the original concrete pad. . . 

. . . while the other moves the base.

Soon the base is in place and being leveled.

The stone goes atop the base . .  . 

. . . and is being leveled.

After 4 pennies are placed under the corners,
a sealer is applied to hold the stone to the base.
The pennies keep the stone from squishing out the sealer.
Then the excess sealer is removed.

The stone is washed to remove dirt and debris.

And the truck leaves.

One of the guys had installed my first stone in 2005. It was the first stolen one he'd had to replace. He said he'd replaced a lot of stones before, but usually that was because they were hit by cars.

That first stone, identical to this one, only lasted two years. We'll see how long this lasts.