The article describes the author's childhood in rural Pennsylvania, where the proximity of cornfields and a nearby cemetery shaped their experience. Focusing on the connections between life and death, the author recalls wandering through fields and feeling a kinship with the long-gone inhabitants of the cemetery. Moments spent reading names aloud instilled a sense of communication with the past, indicating a deep reverence for those who had passed. This relationship with death has influenced their continuing affection for cemeteries, evoking memories of personal and universal loss.
I grew up in the presence of corn and the dead. Near my house, there was a small cemetery that any traveler heading east would need to pass before dropping down a steep hill that landed in the small town of Freeburg.
Rather than being afraid of ghosts, I called out to them. My love for cemeteries followed me throughout my life.
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