Bispham&Heaton&Hale, Oh My!

I gave a tour at Laurel Hill Cemetery today. My son Chris, who knows nearly as much as about LHC as I do, came along as well. Barring a last-minute private tour, this marks the end of my tenth complete year as a guide at LHC.

Being an LHC guide ties a number of my favorite threads together. These include, but aren’t limited to:

·      Interesting and often quirky historical research.

·      Leisurely walks in beautiful outdoor settings.

·      Connecting with people via storytelling.

·      A pinch of performance art, and a dash of standup comedy.

Oddly, for someone who keeps a journal, I have rarely recorded my impressions of individual tours. I’ve almost never noted the people I’ve met, the questions they’ve asked, the enthusiasm they’ve shown, the moments they’ve enjoyed. Sometimes I wish I would have done this, but maybe it’s not a bad thing that I didn’t: each tour exists in its own moment, and once it’s done, it’s over.

But maybe each person who joins a tour takes their favorite part of it with them, and that’s what counts. And, while I don’t have specific details of each tour I’ve given, I do know that, perhaps paradoxically, every tour I’ve led at Laurel Hill has been a life-affirming experience for me, and hopefully for the tour guests.

~217~