sweet auburn | 2025 volume I
“ Mount Auburn Cemetery was there for me through a year and a half of difficult adjustment to living following a significant diagnosis. During the worst times, and then through my gradual recovery, Mount Auburn was my solace and place of hope. My husband, Don, would bundle me in the car. With me lying flat with the passenger seat back, he would drive us through the trees of the Cemetery. I would look up at the canopy from a new perspective, see life, and find joy. I want people like me to find a place of human kindness and environmental leadership where they feel welcome as I did with Mount Auburn”
— Pamela Michaelis
Every year, the thrilling arrival of spring in the Cemetery fills me with anticipation! There is more daylight, the gates remain open longer, and I can once again return to my late afternoon / early evening walks along the Cemetery’ s many winding roads and paths. If I happen to be running late, I know that in a pinch, I can make it to the back gates in under 20 minutes!
On most evenings, however, I am not rushing anywhere. As soon as I step inside the gates, the noise of the bustling world quiets, my soul comes alive, and I am lost to time and nature. I might hear a bird chirping which I immediately try to locate so I can snap a photograph. If it’ s a birdcall unfamiliar to me as a somewhat novice birdwatcher, the birdsong identifier on my phone tells me exactly who I ' m hearing. I find myself following the bird around for however long it takes to get a good shot.
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