Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter B: Barefoot Mailmen of Florida Florida’s treacherous terrain One reason southern Florida remained sparsely populated for so long is because of its dense undergrowth. Even today, most public parks feature raised wooden boardwalks through the woods for visitors rather than mere trails. Boating, walking and swimming mailmen…
Tag: A to Z challenge
FREE Cemetery Symbols Guide: Would you like a FREE guide to historic cemetery symbolism? If so, click the image below: April Fool’s Day fun… at the cemetery? Since it’s April Fool’s Day, thought I’d share a round up of some of the more playful interments I have come across while researching my upcoming book, Messages from the Dead: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbols. In fact, this afternoon on the Para Mysteries show, Teal Gray and I will be chatting about these quirky graves, as well as recent archeological finds pertaining to Hell Hounds lore. Tune in or catch the…
Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter A: Ashes of the Alamo Dead What happened to the Alamo dead? A sightseeing trip to San Antonio, Texas isn’t complete without a visit to the Alamo, however, few tourists realize that the remains of the Alamo soldiers are kept in a church a couple blocks away.…
Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe? Since the Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico, depictions of her are common in areas with a large Hispanic population. The squiggly lines that surround her body represent rays of sunlight. I’m not Hispanic, but the Virgen of Guadalupe made a big impression on me as a little girl when my family visited Mexico City. You might even say that I’ve been a fan of her ever since! To learn more about her, check out this excellent post: Everything You Needed to Know about the Virgen de Guadalupe. Field Guide to…
What Do Upside Down Torches Mean on a Grave? UPSIDE DOWN TORCH: If you read my post for J (
What does a pitcher signify on a headstone? PITCHER: Pitchers mean different things depending on where you are. If you are visiting a Jewish cemetery, then a pitcher at a grave site implies that the person descended from the tribe of Levi. (Levites washed the hands of their priests with water.) If you are in the Christian section of a historic graveyard (as I was when I took the photo you see above), pitchers most often represent a woman of strong moral character, someone who was exceedingly generous, self-sacrificing, and charitable. It can also mean she was a prohibitionist,…