053110 Memorial Day Gypsy Grave Hunt...

So a while ago (memorial day) I went with this crazy crew to see this "big gypsy grave display, where gypsies from all over the country gather each Memorial Day for a special tribal celebration. The gathering began after Spring Grove allowed one of the gypsy kings, who happened to be traveling through Cincinnati in the 1940s when he died, to be buried for free. The gypsies return each year for this secret pilgrimage to the cemetery, according to the Cincinnati Historical Society, all driving the same kind of car — it used to be Cadillacs, but now it’s a particular brand of SUV. If the caravan of identical SUVs doesn’t tip you off, look for the mourners all carting lavish orchid arrangements."
(Not what we expected.)
F+
And that's not just because I used to work for an amazing florist. In fact, the directions online were as helpful as "Turn on the grey road." Stunning.

The coolest thing was once again the beautiful Spring Grove Cemetery... until....

The "Shunning."

The crew decided to shun all the cars that drove by.
The reason remains unclear.

This car was SO shunned it almost veered off the path.

You can clearly see the good solid shun the group could throw, though. You can't say this wouldn't effect you in public, now can you?

Of course in a graveyard it only makes sense to pretend to be zombies to fit in while not shunning.

You are so shunned.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, I'm a gypsy and my family are buried in Spring Grove. I think what you posted was very disrespectful. I've never heard of gypsy kings by the way. We just go every year to pay our respects. I guess maybe it's a silly tradition, but friends and family put up flowers for people they loved. We are people with feelings and we just want to be left alone when we go there.

Nicholas Viltrakis said...

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with disrespectful there "Anonomyous". My "F" if that is what you were referring to is toward the link on a Cincinnati website that touted your grievance display, I think your homage to your kin is both heartfelt and beautiful!