“How low do you have to go to steal flowers from someone’s grave?” wonders Ash in East Lansing, Michigan.
At the very least, I suppose, you’ve have to be someone untroubled by the prospect of being publicly chided or privately haunted. In Providence, Rhode Island, Moira noticed that the flowers at this memorial had very recently been dug up again.
related: Rolling over in his grave
extra credit: “Man arrested for stealing flowers off graves to give to girlfriend”
37 responses so far ↓
#1
nativefloridian
Now, I haven’t seen very many memorial benches, but do they usually come with flower holders? Because if they were just placed on top of the bench (y’know, where people sit), I can see someone assuming someone else with flowers sat there and forgot them when they got up.
Nov 8, 2012 at 3:38 pm rating: 4
#2
Geek Goddess
So, either the dead know you are leaving flowers, or they don’t. If they don’t, it only matters to you, so why bother? If they do, then your loved one may appreciate the thought, but the person whose grave you stole them of off may not. In that case, you may wish to rethink stealing from the dead.
Nov 8, 2012 at 3:58 pm rating: 8
#3
wright1
While I also consider it pretty low to remove flowers left as a remembrance (particularly on a grave, fer cryin’ out loud), both notewriters neglect to consider that the deceased individuals in question may have been responsible…
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:57 pm rating: 48
#4
infant tyrone
Well, when you’re sitting there
In your silk upholstered chair
Talking to some rich folks that you know ….
Kris Kristofferson had a song for it…missing flowers ?
Blame It on the Stones
Hi up there, GG…
Nov 9, 2012 at 12:45 am rating: 0
#5
Dr_Know
I don’t know why you would steal either
a) flowering bushes – with a lot of them you could just take a cutting if you liked it so much.
or
b) an actual bouquet – the person you’re going to see won’t know that you didn’t bring flowers. Unless you believe in an afterlife, in which case they can see you stole them!
Hmm
Nov 9, 2012 at 2:38 am rating: 7
#6
Leonna
A lot of cemeteries have people that actually go around and throw out all the old flowers. There is a good chance they aren’t being stolen. They just aren’t being watered, die, and the ground crew has to throw them out to help keep up with appearances. If you ever want to see something pretty dramatic, check out the dumpsters in a cemetery. it’s filled with flowers, moldy stuffed animals, broken pictures and frames, etc. It’s a bit sad to see.
Nov 9, 2012 at 3:59 am rating: 37
#7
Lil'
Stealing from a grave is heartless. I personally never leave flowers when I visit a loved one’s grave because I hate the idea that a week from then it will be a dirty heap of garbage laying there. I can however appreciate that that’s a way some people feel in touch with lost loved ones. Let them have that. Besides, if you steal from a stranger’s grave and place it on your loved one’s grave, how does that honor your loved one? If you think it doesn’t matter to the deceased person you took it from, why would it matter to the deceased person you gave it to? My grandfather planted rose bushes at my grandmother’s grave and put a fence around their double plot. They’re both gone now, but after a decade those bushes still bloom. I think it was a beautiful gesture on his part and it’s nice to see that part of him live on at their final resting spot.
Nov 9, 2012 at 7:48 am rating: 27
#8
kathryn
That’s quite a burden that the spirits of Sheryl and Maggie didn’t sign up for. Now it’s *their* responsibility to haunt a flower-thief? I don’t envy them- I would like to think that my afterlife would be errand-free.
Nov 9, 2012 at 9:07 am rating: 59
#9
KD
I’m going to guess deer and other critters are the most likely culprits in the flower thefts. I have to fence off any new plantings in my yard because the squirrels are so bad. It takes them about fifteen minutes to wander over to any new planting and dig it up because they seem to think I am burying my winter stash. Deer are even worse, they just eat the young plants, often not leaving a trace as to what happened. Ground hogs will destroy a garden in minutes also.
I’m betting after animals do this, killing the plants, the cemetery groundskeepers are throwing away the dead plants.
Nov 9, 2012 at 10:08 am rating: 4
#10
The Elf
We need to bring back the practice of gravestone rubbing. There’s something you can do in memory of your loved one that doesn’t leave anything to be stolen / cleaned up.
Nov 9, 2012 at 11:06 am rating: 4
#11
Wait..what?
This was Florida. nuff said.
Nov 9, 2012 at 11:52 am rating: 1
#12
Beatus Mongous
And may those spirits pull your feet at night.
Nov 9, 2012 at 1:38 pm rating: 1
#13
Ray Knobs
Where is Sheryland and why is it haunted?
Nov 9, 2012 at 2:46 pm rating: 5
#14
Leorale
I used to lead ghost tours in Providence RI, and in fairness, there’s a pretty rich tradition of hauntings there. Although most of the ghosts seem to have better things to do, such as hanging out with Independence War soldiers, dancing with their forbidden loves in the art gallery, lounging on the library steps with Edgar Allen Poe, etc. Shout out to Providence.
Nov 10, 2012 at 1:01 am rating: 2
#15
whatever
someone stole the lantern i placed on my father’s grave. it was a nice one, that i spent quite some time picking out, on a limited budget (i was a student at the time) too. i didn’t even get the chance to see it when i went to the grave a week after i put it. really, how low can people get?
Nov 11, 2012 at 1:27 pm rating: 1
#16
raichu
re: the second: I was team note-writer until the last line. I don’t really like that line; I don’t think wishing that the dead people you’re trying to honor would haunt someone is a very good way of honoring them. I wouldn’t like it if it were me.
But yeah, stealing flowers from someone’s grave or memorial is a really dick move. (for both)
Nov 13, 2012 at 10:21 am rating: 2
#17
Hammer Thyme
Every cemetery has groundskeepers . Part of their job it is to go around once a week and remove bouquets, plants planted without permission, stuffed animals, photos, etc. Almost no cemeteries allow anything permanent to be left/planted. They usually do it once a week. You should ask before you leave stuff what the policy is at the cemetery where you are going. Hundreds of people leave stuff everyday… they can’t just leave that much stuff lying around. It would look like the city dump in two months.
Nov 18, 2012 at 3:02 pm rating: 4
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