Posted by Frank M. on November 01, 1998 at 14:30:18:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Our Grandparent's Grave in Puerto Rico posted by Carl Jr on October 31, 1998 at 21:04:35:
Carl et al:
As of 1/1/99, our grandparents tomb is going to be removed by the Puerto Rican government, and relocated to a mausoleum by the entrance to the cemetery. Since they have declared the site to be a national treasure (due to its age and the number of patriots, politicians and educators buried there), the process of beautifying the place has begun, which includes taking care of gravesites that have been destroyed or abandoned. Now; many years ago, our grandparents' tomb was destroyed during a tropical storm - a large statue of the Sacred Heart fell on it and crushed the marble slab that covered the site (there's some significance there, but that's another story). Since it seems that no one ever visited the site after the accident, it sat their in that state of disrepair for over 12 years (don't even expect the government to lift a finger to fix/repair - not even those in Puerto Rico who are among the land of the living can expect such luxuries). Names? Well, as per what the cemetery's caretaker told me, Titi Yuli was contacted about the incident, and told that it would take about $1,200 to $1,300 to repair the storm damage. She advised that she would look into taking care of things, but they never heard back from her. Did anyone hear/receive correspondence about this? My own mother (who was "in touch" with many of you out there) never mentioned any problems re. Mamá and Papá's gravesite.
Now; what really transpired? I don't know. I have no proof of this story. I have no phone records, no signed statements re. correspondence sent/received. I have no way of confirming what the caretaker said. All I have is his verbal statement to me, the sight of the grave - broken, abandoned, littered with trash - and a brief history of how it came to be. If you all want to throw your arms around one another and pledge your love of family and unity, try dealing first with the reality of who we are and what we have allowed this family to become. I thank Carl Jr. immensely for providing this forum. Let's not use this arena to further bury our heads in the sand. Face the facts of what has transpired, and work together to make it right. I'm not pouring salt into open wounds - I'm merely exposing what was hidden so that it may heal, and we can move on as a true family unit. As my mother used to say, "no cantes victoria hasta que te lleves la corona" (for the Spanish-impaired: "Don't claim a victory until you walk away with the crown"). For the idiom-impaired: Don't talk about family love and unity until you've cleared a path for its fruition.
: Frankie,
: Let's not have any secrets here! Which Tia are we
: talking about? Surely not 'nana...who wouldn't
: have any idea what to do...
: And maybe we cousins could chip-in a few bucks each
: to care for the grave. (OK, OK, just an idea...)
: Carl Jr