When I was growing up, well into my teenage years, we used hear a lot o’ stories ’bout people going back intuh the cemetery in the night after duh bury somebody, skinning out the dead body and carrying away the coffin or the casket.
Ya used tuh hear dat the grave diggers was in cahoots wid the people who own the funeral homes and they would put something pon top the coffins so dat when the gravedigger start tuh push the dirt and rocks back down in the hole, it wouldn’t dent up nor mash up the coffin ’cause dem had tuh come back fuh it later in the night so dat duh could sell it tuh somebody else.
I could remember going tuh funerals when duh didn’t use any kinda padding pon top the coffin or the casket and when the gravediggers start tuh fill back in the hole, the sound o’ the big rock and hard dirt beating down pon the coffin was too much; it used tuh make ya feel like duh was mashing up the body down in there.
Dat was not a good feeling at all, and while it was hard fuh some people, ya would hear another set saying dat the family want it. Duh want dem tuh mash it up wid the rubble because duh ain’t want nuhbody gine back and tiefing wha dem pay suh much money for.
Well, I ain’t know if dat is true or not but as I grow up I stop believing in dah sort o’ thing as I really thought it was disgusting dat somebody could actually do something like this tuh somebody family.
Wrong and heartless
It is not only disgusting but it is so wrong and heartless. I also had the opportunity tuh work wid a few funeral home people and realise dat it is only stories dat people used tuh make up ’bout this gine back in the night fuh caskets thing.
As I got older and started going tuh more funerals, I used tuh hear dat people used tuh tief the flowers from off the graves when all the people gone ’long ’bout duh business, but I really ain’t pay it nuh mind until the other day when I see some man in the papers, who get charged fuh tiefing flowers off o’ people graves.
Wha’ people come tuh though? Ya mean duh could become suh depraved and heartless dat duh could do something like dah? I tell ya, it is very sad.
I was talking tuh a friend o’ mind only last night ’bout this tiefing flowers off people grave thing and I ask her what she thought about it and she allow me tuh know dat it ain’t nothing new. She say dat this sort o’ thing does go on all the time and dat she see a big able man in the papers couple weeks back, charged wid the same thing.
Sickening
Well, because I thought it was sickening, I ask her what she think duh does do wid the flowers when duh tief dem and she tell me dat duh does keep dem fresh and sell dem back tuh other people who want wreaths.
Now, dat is sickening! Even the dead cahn rest in peace fuh the tiefing. Duh ain’t satisfied tuh tief from ya when ya alive but when ya dead too? Good Lord!
I hope the powers dat be make haste and do something ’bout this sort o’ thing because it cahn be easy burying ya parent one day and going back the next day tuh spend li’l quiet time in the cemetery, only tuh find the grave ransacked and vandalised. It got tuh be hard fuh the poor grieving family and downright wickedness pon the people who continue tuh do this sort o’ thing and doan think dem doing anything wrong.
I hope duh make haste and pass some kinda law where people who do this sort o’ thing so not only have tuh pay a big fine, but get some good jail time in duh tail.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
