England - York Minster, Dead Guy in an Alcove #1 / Dead Guy Prank in College

Now for the death.  Lots of dead guys in this place - along the walls, as part of walls between rooms, under the floor.  These are fascinating because every crypt and sepulcher tells a story.  This guy, for instance.  He obviously was a venerated holy man, and loved his dog.  His expression is friendly and mellow.  His vestments are properly arranged, and you can tell what style his shoes are.  His pillow even looks soft, thought it is literally made of stone.  If the inscription weren't in Latin I bet it would tell us something of his greatness.  A lot of money was spent in preparing his burial place, and though we don't know him one can tell he was a good fellow.

Death never did bother me too much, and I have never taken it as seriously as many would think appropriate.  But fact is, our earthly death is just a crossing over.

And it can also be fun.  Ever play a graveyard prank on someone?  In Scouts we sure did.  And one time my best friend in college, Kevin, and I decided to prank some kids having recess on the grounds of an elementary school on Mound Street in Nacogdoches, Texas.  Yes those innocent kids had no idea what was coming their way, because at the time there was a funeral home right across the street from their campus.  I had just bought a plywood board for a construction project in my dorm room when we passed by and got an idea.

The drive at the funeral home sort of wound back behind the establishment, so we pulled in so the kids couldn't see us.  Once out of sight we rearranged that board to lay flat using the front dash and the back seats as support.  I happened to have an old blanket in the car, and after Kevin laid on the board I threw it over him.  Then slowly we crept out of the drive and rolled by those kids nice and easy so they could get a good look.

Don't know what their reaction was, or if even they noticed us, but we had fun doing it...in fact so much fun that Kevin could not stop laughing even when he was supposed to be dead!