lost stories from hwy 40-part 1

in newcastle on old hwy 40 there is a little cemetery off the main road. i'd always see it riding by, and was struck by these monoliths with chinese or japanese characters (not sure which) and so i decided to stop and check it out the other day. i love walking around in old cemeteries, not because i'm really into death or anything, i just dig all the historic implications of all these people's lives and lineage and place and time in history and well it's also really peaceful there. i can sit down and listen to the thoughts in my head and just kind of process.
as i was walking around i noticed this old tree whose limb had grown out laterally and been supported by this huge 4x4 post like an old man's arm on a crutch. the birds kept calling to each other jumping from tree to tree as if warning against a potential predator. i guess they don't see a lot of people each day.
there are markers here dating back to before the civil war and like most other cemeteries all manner of elaborate and ornate stone of different sizes and shape. in death people can still show by what means they lived. but my favorite ones are these simple ones in the (I think) japanese section with ink calligraphy markings. not even cut characters in the stone. amazing if they have preserved all of these years.
maybe i am into death. anyway, it seems to make life taste sweeter.