Tombstone

There's something endearing about getting a phone call from an offspring who's out at the cemetery looking for grandpa.

"Are you out there because it's Grandparents' Day? I know you asked me last night about where he was buried, but I didn't realize it was Grandparents' Day until I stared at the calendar this morning."

"No, I didn't know it was Grandparents' Day until you just mentioned it. Isn't that weird?"

"What brought you out there."

"It's a nice day."

Now I know the Irish genes she possesses and those she married are controlling her tides. There are other ingredients, but they're obviously not enough to cancel anything. The Irish may have lost yesterday's football game, but they won somewhere else today.

"You told me it was 8082, Section D."

"Isn't the office open?"

"No, they're closed on Sundays."

"Let me check. I know exactly how to get there, but I'll check the location again. It's Section 8083, Section D. The place isn't that big. Why don't you start over at the beginning, turn left after you pass the office, look for a HUGE mausoleum with HADJIYIANNIS on it, continue on a little bit on the same road, and you'll see the fairly large tombstone on your left with someone named KRAMER in front of it. These things don't move around."

"Found Hadjiyiannis."

"You're close. I don't know who she or he was, but they've been there forever. I delivered flowers to a Hadjiyiannis once. She owned the 33rd floor of the Sherry-Netherland. I think I got a tip."

"Found it. We must have passed it before. Yes, Kramer's in front."

"Great. Read the foot stones to me. I want to know if anyone else has been added they didn't tell me about."

"There's John."

"Yes, that's my grandfather. When did he die? 1956? 1958?"

"1958."

"When does it say he was born?"

"1885. Where's your grandmother?"

"That's Helen. But they never marked it. She passed away in 1964, but the last time that bunch ever agreed on anything and forked over money was when the old man died. Four brothers and even more opinions.

"Not only is my grandmother unmarked, but her bachelor brother Tom is there, as is my grandfather's bachelor brother Peter. Then my father's brother Jimmy. There's another brother Angelo, and assuredly at this point, his wife Mary. The place is the tomb of the unknown Greeks. It sleeps 12. Four across, three deep.

"Oh, I remember you talking about that."

"Who else is there?

"There's your mother and father. You added that, of course. There's Jimmy and Alma."

"Alma! Alma passed away then? When does it say?"

"It doesn't. It just says James, 1916-1988. Then Alma's name."

"Wow, that's something. Somebody put Jimmy's name out there. I told you that story. Mom and I went out there many years ago and found the ground freshly dug up and replaced. Someone had been added, but I never got any phone calls. Turned out my father's youngest brother Jimmy died a year after he did. They never marked it. Alma went to California. Never heard from her again. Their adopted son must have done right by them. He couldn't be related to the bunch that I am. That, or Alma did it, and because there are no dates, she's only getting ready. She's not Greek, so maybe she sprung for something for Jimmy. She probably didn't pass away. She was a second wife, so she'd be a bit younger.

"As a kid I remember hearing people described as being so cheap they wouldn't spend a nickel to see the Statue of Liberty. My family tree has their names.

"Glad you went. Do the shrubs need pruning? Several years ago I went there and was going to prune them but they didn't need it. So, I figured they were taking pretty good care of the place."

"Yes, a little overgrown onto the headstone."

"Okay, you and I will get out there and take care of that soon. Glad you found it."

"This place is hilly. It's got a great view of Manhattan."

"Yes, Maspeth does. That cemetery is full of Greeks. They're not Catholic, and not Jewish, and everybody's got to be someplace."

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