Burial Spots

There was a story in my local newspaper about cemeteries here that got me to thinking about my own family burials. We have above ground burials here because the water table is so how that any casket buried above ground would pop up to the surface, probably open a nd dead bodies or remains would be on display. So the New Orleans burial plot is on ground in a tomb or in a mausoleum.
When my father's ancestors immigrated to New Orleans from germany in 1852 they were part of a large German community here, so when those relatives (my great grandfather, his brothers and his sisters and spouses) died they were all buried in Lafayette Number II cemetery, located in the Garden District area of the city. Their remains are still there and the cemetery is a tourist site to some because of the elaborate crypts and headstones some of the wealthier families erected for their loved deceased ones. But for some reason, my grandfather and my mother's family (her dad was German her mom, Irish) started burying in Hope Mausoleum, the largest and most prominent of the mausoleums here.
In fact, my mother gave me paperwork showing that the family (Only Jane and I are still alive) has two spots left in the crypt where my parents and brother lay. So, when I die I could be placed in that spot as well. I am not in a rush to die and given that many relatives died at ancient ages I will delay my burial for some time. Neither of the two burial spots were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Hope Mausoleum got 4 feet of water inside, but my relatives are all interred on the upper level of the mausoleum.
Lafayette II cemetery is located in the highest spot in the city, one of the areas within the 20% that were not flooded by the storm. The sad thing is that a cemetery, like Leaflet I can become run down without the survivors attending to it and ensuring it does not. Hope Mausoleum is entrusted to many caretakers and is always kept in pristine condition. I have visited it a number of times, given that my immediate family and grandparents and aunts are buried there.
But I have been to Lafayette II only a few times. Like most survivors who had no contact with the deceased (I was not yet born when they were buried there) I have paid little attention to the cemetery. It's sad that as we are forgotten by relatives even our burial spot starts to "die" a little also.
Like a favorite poem of mine by Percy Shelly, 'Ozmandious", it happens to us all. Shelly wrote about the greet King Ozmandius lamenting his death and being forgotten. Even the big monuments he had built had crumbled and withered as his body had. He was now virtually forgotten.
"Nothing besides us remains Round the decay of that colossal wreck The lone and level sands stretch far away'
Oh, my..this is too serious. So lets go from the dark poem Ozmandius to something lighter. I love the children's allegory "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as much as anyone, certainly more than one resident of Vancouver, British Columbia. It's because a big bear decided to act out the story in a home in the city the other day. That's a real life version of the tale...only in reverse.
The woman who owns the home came home and found the bear eating oatmeal in her kitchen. According to police (No, they didn't arrest the bear) the bear got in the house through an open sliding glass door, broke a ceramic container and started his oatmeal binge. When the woman called police to remove the bear the three officers had no luck, so they let him finish his oatmeal breakfast.
Almost on cue, the bear finished his meal and strolled casually out the same glass door and into the forest in back of the house. The homeowner vows to both close and lock her doors and to eat more foods the bear won't be attracted to next time.