31 Comments
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Laura W.'s avatar

Such a fun blog to read. You continue to tickle me with your wit and great sense of humor. 😘 happy Halloween 🎃 👻

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Jen Zug's avatar

Thank you, Laura!

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Melanie Hardacker's avatar

The guy was clearly a Minnesotan that died traveling in Washington. Skol Vikings! (They spelled it wrong because they weren't from minnesota and didnt know better.)

Also my friends would put something like, "this is an unfortunate situation". They recently pointed out i say situation a lot and now I can't stop noticing how true that is.

John would put, "i can't explain the world to you" which us my go to for pretty much everything he says.

I seriously think we might put on my mom's headstone "I don't know what to tell you, she did what she had to do" because that is her go to explanation for everything she does.

Nothing comes to mind for what riss would write but will be asking her later. Will also probably get an eye roll.

Good stuff.

Also I felt clostrophobic reading about your office set up. Deep breath.

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Jen Zug's avatar

omg I love all of these, especially “this is an unfortunate situation.” 😂

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Jen Zug's avatar

My office would not be claustrophobic if I had a size-appropriate desk, but I inherited this space and desk from Bryan and it’s too late now. It would be too much work to move all my stuff and disassemble the desk. I will die complaining about how big my desk is for the space. In fact, maybe that is what will be on my headstone: “She died trying to leave her office.”

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Came here to say the same thing about Skol, but maybe he also just really liked chewing tobacco. Who knows? lol.

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Lindsey Melden's avatar

lol my kids would probably put a similar “have you had any water today” to my headstone 😆

Love the foggy garden picture 🥰😍

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Jen Zug's avatar

Ha! Thank you Lindsey!

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Jim Caldwell's avatar

I think if they bury you and BZ together you could just each have a word: Salt and Light. You can fight over who gets which.

Glad we have you guys as PCFs. Hugs for our “grandkids” and you both.

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Jen Zug's avatar

Of COURSE you are Perfect Couple Friends! 😂🥳

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Tom Pendergast's avatar

Fun one Jen

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Stephanie Alter Jones's avatar

I'm on a mission to notice more small things, and these headstones are a perfect dose of wonderful humanity - not the "hit it over your head" drama of bright lights or spectacular sights, just people, and how we remember them -- love it!

p.s. I'm all in for Fogtober, but I've been traveling away from Seattle this month, and the Amalfi Coast might give our town a run for it's money, if I had to choose. Just sayin'

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Holly Starley's avatar

I like this reminder, Stephanie. Noticing the small things can change everything about how we go through life.

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Jen Zug's avatar

I also love noticing small things. My photography style has always leaned toward capturing small details and largely unnoticed candid moments.

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Katharine Strange's avatar

This was great. I love cemeteries! Comet Lodge Cemetery is near my place, a DESECRATED, haunted cemetery! Very creepy!

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Jen Zug's avatar

I’ve never heard of this! Now I want to read up on it…

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Holly Starley's avatar

Your fogtober garden is wonderful. I do find cemeteries lovely places to walk and think. I had a creative writing teacher in high school who loved to write in cemeteries, and that always stuck with me.

Lovely post, Jen.

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Jen Zug's avatar

My son spends time in there writing, I think. There are several benches scattered throughout.

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Andrew Knott's avatar

Love this one. That awkward convo at the beginning is classic.

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Jen Zug's avatar

lol so awkward

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

Love the 29 word headstone. I wish I knew that guy.

Mine might say— goofy mom, wifey, sistah, buried in her favorite sweatpants, humor was her sword, hoping G-d will be her best audience, still waiting for her kids to text her back.

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Jen Zug's avatar

lol @ still waiting for the text!

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Julie Hester's avatar

Having lived next door to a number of cemeteries (parsonage neighbors) I love this post and writing prompt. (Can I borrow it for Saturday?!) Also a fan since childhood of the haunted mansion headstones. And most of your viewing picks. Adding others to my list. Thanks!

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Jen Zug's avatar

Yes, please do use it on Saturday! I’ll see you then.

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Bethany Bell's avatar

“You won’t get out alive, either.”

What a fun essay. Thank you!

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Gretchen Staebler's avatar

I lived walking distance to an historic cemetery in Raleigh. I walked there before work several times a week. I loved it so much. I had my favorites. Thank you for the memory.

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Libby Brady's avatar

I love this. I too like to walk through cemeteries and wonder at the kinds of lives the departed have lived. Not sure about my headstone. My husband gets weirded out when I ask him stuff like that. I would much rather be buried under a tree to return to the soil and be a part of the ecosystem. Probably something that would be spoken in a ridiculous Minnesotan accent. Whenever someone orders a mini taco appetizer at work I can't help but say it as one would there, "taaaah-coh" and then I proceed to read every ticket like a Midwestern mom 😅.

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Linda Keeney's avatar

Enjoyed this one for many reasons! We think about and know our way of interacting with death, but it seems that we never quite get good at it. Perhaps because there is so much pain that comes with it. I love your discoveries and writing about them here. Thank-you.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I don't want a headstone either (ashes in the Gorge and on Mt. Hood, please), but if I did, I'd like the epitaph to read "Home is where I want to be, but I guess I'm already there" from Talking Heads, "This Must be the Place."

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