A Bike Ride Diversion

It was a beautiful day and I hadn't been outside much, so I decided to go on a bike ride to get away from the noise of the lawnmower. I had this idea that I would take a different route to add some variety, maybe head north past Frosty Boy and the cemeteries and up the hill to the Waterstone Development. Except that hill was a tough climb and I needed to take a break when I got to the top of it.

As I stood there changing my mind about my route, I peered into the old cemetery. Whenever I drive past (it is alongside a busy street) I think that I would like to explore in there. I have only been inside once, on Memorial Day, when you get to follow the parade from the downtown gazebo to here where they do a gun salute and other ceremonial things. I remember noticing how extremely old the headstones were in this section, when my friend Monica pointed out how to find the symbol that indicates whether the person was in the Armed Services.

Abandoning my exercise goal for the day, I ventured in. I started along the dirt path on my bike, but due to the grade and the nagging thought that maybe it was inappropriate to be doing this, I switched to walking. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly serene and peaceful it was there. And that the grass had been freshly mowed. Since mowing isn't very peaceful I justified that a person walking their bike through isn't any worse so I wouldn't be disturbing anyone, right?

Most of the headstones in this part are from the 1800's. I like to look at them and imagine the stories of the people who are in there. You can figure out some things when families are buried together, or from the carvings. Many of the names are recognizable as the names of roads and streets around the area. I am new to this town and none of my ancestors are buried here, but I figure that these people had a hand in forming the town that I live in today.

I didn't stay too long because I was aware that I was could be seen by all of the cars passing by on the adjacent road, and most of them were probably wondering what that bicycle person was doing in there, with a certain percentage, this being a small town, wondering what that crazy Mindy was doing. So I snapped these pics with my cell phone and pedaled toward the village.

I like the Village of Oxford because it has a long history (we even have a little museum) and some beautiful Victorian buildings and houses which stand in contrast to the very modern subdivisions, like the one I live in, that surround them.

I took this picture of my favorite of the old houses. One time about a year ago I was waiting in traffic right in front of it, and as I gazed up I noticed Jeffrey in the back seat doing the same thing.

"It's fun to look at these old houses, isn't it?" I asked him, to maybe start a conversation about architecture.

"Yeah, it is." He replied. "I was just thinking wouldn't it be fun to explore that attic."

I'm with Jeff. There are stories and secrets and interesting old things all around here. Most of the time we just drive on by.