Mikrokopter Hexa-XL Flies Over Mount Auburn
Mount Auburn Recycles ! During an electronic recycling event for staff and local community members we collected : 250 - 300 cubic feet of material , including 29 PC Towers 3 iMacs
People and Happenings
Let Them Eat Cake ( and Talk About Death , Too )
Mikrokopter Hexa-XL Flies Over Mount Auburn
In October 2013 , software developer Eben Gay flew the Mikrokopter Hexa-XL over the Sphinx . The hexacopter about 30 inches across with a camera attached , produced 3- dimensional images of our iconic sphinx monument .
Explore more online :
www . mountauburn . org / sweet-auburn-summer-2014 /
On the afternoon of Friday , October 18th the International Dendrology Society visited Mount Auburn for lunch and a tour of the grounds with Dave Barnett , who was leading the group on a ten-day tour of fall foliage throughout New England .
Mount Auburn Recycles ! During an electronic recycling event for staff and local community members we collected : 250 - 300 cubic feet of material , including 29 PC Towers 3 iMacs
11 Laptops 10 VCR , DVD or CD Players 17 Flat screen monitors or TVs 2 iPods and a box of Christmas lights . Stay tuned for next event !
People and Happenings
Let Them Eat Cake ( and Talk About Death , Too )
By Stephanie Gillette , External Affairs Coordinator
On a gray Sunday in March , Bigelow Chapel opened to reveal a room of tablecloth-draped tables , flickering candles , thermoses of tea , and a cheery frosted cake announcing Mount Auburn ’ s 1st Death Café . Attendees poured in , curious and eager to dive into conversation . Nearly two hours later , everyone emerged a bit lighter from their conversations , and a crumb fuller from the sweet confection .
The Death Café model , developed by Jon Underwood in England ( and inspired by Bernard Crettaz ), is an opportunity for people to come together to drink tea , eat cake , and discuss death . It is not a bereavement group or end-of-life event ; it is a chance to muse openly with others about what death means in regards to life .
With those simple rules in place , Mount Auburn invited the community in for this important conversation . Thirtyfive strangers and five facilitators circled the tables around the room and quickly leapt into animated discussions of loss , philosophical examinations of death , and the pursuit to understand the meaning of a good death . No topic was taboo or too sensitive to explore .
In teasing out our own relationships with death – anxieties , sorrows , hopes , and regrets – a common ground was found . Attendees exchanged phone numbers to continue their conversations and engage in “ death circles ”; the sound of laughter frequently punctuated the event and emphasized a comfort with the topic . When asked about her experience at the Death Café , Mount Auburn Cemetery Volunteer Roberta Messina explained ,“ I sat with people I had never met . In our own way we each expressed how precious life is and the importance of living life to the fullest , sharing thoughts about loved ones who had died , and about the future . By the end of my first Death Café I had been inspired by others in ways I had not expected , grateful for each person and the whole experience .”
“ Comforting ,” “ inspiring ,” and “ interesting ” were the three words used most frequently to describe Mount Auburn ’ s Death Café , among those in attendance . We hope you ’ ll join us at a future Death Café to share your perspective on this intriguing , universal topic .
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