June 26, 2004

It was about seven years ago that I first caught a glimpse of a strange tombstone in the Oak Ridge cemetery in St. Charles, Il. I wasn't quite sure the first time I saw it, it took three or four passes before I was sure. Someone had put an easy chair in the cemetery, a easy chair tombstone.

Although I would pass the cemetery several times a month over the course of seven years, I never got the right chance to stop and check it out. Since the cemetery was about half way between my home and a client I had plenty of time to imagine the life and reasons of someone who felt it necessary to spend eternity beneath a stone easy chair.

I had often imaged that the owner of the chair was someone's eccentric uncle, the kind that never married and was thus know for his good humor. He made a small fortune at well no one really new what uncle did...

This evening I finally got the opportunity to stop and pay my respects. The cemetery faces west to the Fox River and the afternoon sun provided a golden glow.

I was quite surprised to find that this wasn't the last joke of a weird uncle but a lasting monument to Loie and Hal Naylor. Now I have two enigmas for I still don't know why the monument is shaped like a chair and why the cryptic PALS above their names. Were Loie and Hal husband and wife or maybe sister and brother. And how hard must it have been for Hal to hang around for 26 years after Loie passed away.