Emma Berry
English 103-14
November 10, 2009
Portfolio 2: Creative Nonfiction
(1,516)
Hollywood Cemetery: A Slower Pace of Life
Step. Step. Step. Step. I am running. A fresh gust of wind whips the scent
of fall by me. It smells of the leaves, decaying to warm hues before they lazily fall
to the ground. It is one of the first fall days, filling me with happiness and a need
to be outdoors. So I am running, exploring, being. I am breathing the scent of fall,
crunching the dried leaves under my stride, and am surrounded by burning reds,
brilliant oranges, and greens fading into gold. I’ve run down Monument Avenue
and onto the Virginia Commonwealth University campus. Families, couples, and
individuals young and old are out and about in downtown Richmond, enjoying
this first taste of fall. I make a quick right turn to escape the crowded sidewalks. I
find myself on a street lined with gloomy houses, dark shadows falling across the
eyes of a group of men staring at me from their front porch; I quicken my pace
and try to appear as if I know where I am going. While looking straight ahead, I
notice a sign reading “Hollywood Cemetery.” Like the street I am running down,
this sign appears worn and bleak. I decide to take a chance and run through the
austere entrance into the graveyard.
The drab entrance to Hollywood Cemetery could not provide a more
significant juxtaposition to the interior. Hollywood Cemetery is no ordinary
graveyard full of row after row of identical headstones engraved with
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unmemorable epitaphs. Upon my first entrance to Hollywood Cemetery, I was
immediately in awe of its beauty and serenity. On the autumn day of my first visit,
the leaves were beginning to change, but the grass was still a rich green, fertilely
growing around the thousands of graves. The graves were equally as amazing,
with typical headstones, ornate statues, enormous tombs, and memorials.
Entering Hollywood is like entering a library; there is a hush, a stillness, and
endless items to look at. There is also a rich history; the cemetery is the final
home of President James Monroe and President John Tyler, Confederate
soldiers, writers, politicians, and influential Richmonders. In addition to its
historical residents, Hollywood Cemetery is located on a hill overlooking the
James River and downtown Richmond, which are the locations for critical events
of the Civil War. This setting adds to the magnificence of Hollywood’s rural
cemetery landscape, making a visit to this cemetery about more than grieving,
but about history, art, and culture (Berg).
My initial visit to Hollywood Cemetery was remarkable for many reasons.
First of all, I had never been anyplace like it. At Hollywood, the idea of dying
doesn’t seem like an ending to be dreaded, but an event to be celebrated. It’s
also unique in its setting, which brings nature, Civil War history, and modern
Richmond together. I ran by the Pyramid, which is a granite pyramid reaching a
spectacular height of ninety feet. The structure serves as a “monument to the
18,000 Confederate enlisted men buried nearby” (Hollywood Cemetery). I slowed
my pace when I recognized names from the University of Richmond, running
past headstones engraved with the famous names of my school: “Modlin,”
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“Weinstein,” “Ryland” and “Boatwright.” I ran over the rolling hills along the roads
that wind throughout the cemetery, each turn allowing me a new view of the
Richmond skyline, the James River, or Belle Isle (Hollywood Cemetery). I read
the dates carved into the stone of the headstones, imagining the lives of the
residents buried below me. I saw memorials to people born in the 1700’s and of
those who had passed away last year. I calculated the ages from the inscriptions,
saddened by children who had barely had any time to live and feeling joyful for
those who had experienced long lives. Although I ran alone, I was surrounded by
the remains of thousands of companions.
As I ran through the grounds of the cemetery that day, I was struck by how
it did not feel like a typical graveyard. It did not evoke any creepy, ominous
feelings, or make me want to hold my breath as I had done growing up when
driving past cemeteries. Instead, my surroundings were majestic and full of life,
not grief. The graves did not seem to mark a burial site, but appeared as
sculptures in a park. The majority of the graves were not adorned with flowers
and other offerings. I barely saw any visitors there for the purpose of mourning.
Most visitors I observed were there to visit the historical graves, to see the
architecture and the art of the cemetery, to learn, or to see the famous Richmond
landmark. I saw other people exercising like me—walkers, other runners, and
cyclists cutting through Hollywood Cemetery to follow the trails to Belle Isle. It
occurred to me that Hollywood Cemetery serves many purposes, and anyone’s
motives for visiting the cemetery will be fulfilled. Hollywood Cemetery is a burial
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ground, a memorial, a museum, a library, a sightseeing tour, and a park, united
into one and ready to offer something to everyone (Berry).
The purpose of my visit started out as an escape from a shabby street
during my run but quickly became a time for observation and reflection. While I
ran between the headstones, past the rows of tombs build into the hillside, and
parallel to the James River, my heart was beating. Boom bump. Boom bump.
Blood was flowing through my veins, circulating throughout my body. Boom
bump. I was struggling to keep my breathing even and my steps light. Boom
bump. Boom bump. Boom bump. I was moving and running and breathing and
living all because of the beating of my heart. Boom bump. Boom bump. And as I
ran along the winding roads of Hollywood Cemetery, the irony of my actions
occurred to me. Here I was, alive, with my heart racing, surrounded by thousands
of bodies where the beating of hearts has stopped forever, where everything is
eternally still.
For many people, a visit to Hollywood Cemetery provides an escape from
work, obligations, multi-tasking, and schedules. Despite the specific reason for a
visit, Hollywood is a place to get away from the demands of daily life. Ironically,
my relaxing run through the cemetery made me more aware than ever of life and
living. Must I be among the dead to appreciate the living? Or should I envy the
dead? In current American society, life seems to require the pace of a world
record one hundred meter dash. It is never stopping, always moving, working,
and doing. Our culture says we will rest when we are dead, but why should we
have to wait? Can we not just stop and catch our breath? We would have time to
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rest, to consider new ideas, to grow as individuals. We would be able to follow
our passions, to define ourselves by our true interests instead of needless
obligations. The epitaphs on the headstones at Hollywood Cemetery represent
what the deceased wants to be remembered for. Our culture should ease up on
the pace, allowing individuals to work only toward what they are most passionate
about, for what they want to be remembered for.
I should slow my pace. When I took the time to really look at Hollywood
Cemetery, to observe the landscape, the visitors, the residents, and the
atmosphere, I relaxed. I didn’t worry about my commitments or responsibilities
and was able to focus in on a specific idea. I should try to do the same in my life.
We live in a time of scheduling and rushing. In investing myself into finding what I
am most passionate about, I will be more still, more focused, and, like in my
experience at Hollywood Cemetery, will be able to develop ideas that could help
me mature as an individual. Is American culture capable of this, of letting go of
frivolous commitments in pursuit of a passion?
Throughout my visit to Hollywood Cemetery, it was evident that people do
have different interests and passions. Some visited for history, some for exercise,
and some to grieve. I hope these visitors learn from their visit, and observe the
juxtaposition between the pace of the dead and the pace of the living and choose
to slow down. In slowing down, they can focus and maintain a purpose for their
passions, passions that define them and by which they will be remembered.
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As I ran out of Hollywood Cemetery on that first fall day, I did not know
what my passion was. I still do not, and probably will not for quite some time. But
it is Hollywood Cemetery’s atmosphere of serenity and majesty that stick with
me. The graves at Hollywood showed me that there is no need to rush, to do
things I am not interested in. The epitaphs of many gravestones summarized
their residents’ entire lives in one sentence. What will mine say? What passion
will I choose? I do not yet know the answers to these questions, but as I begin
the run back home, I consciously slow my pace.
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References
Berg, Shary Page. “Approaches to Landscape Preservation Treatment at Mount
Auburn Cemetery.” APT Bulletin. 24. ¾ (1992): 52-58. Print.
Berry, Emma. “Questions About Hollywood Cemetery.” Message to Mabel
Toney. 27 Oct 2009. E-mail.
Hollywood Cemetery. Hollywood Cemetery, Web. 10 Oct 2009.
<www.hollywoodcemetery.org.>
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