If you had told me that one day I’d willingly step foot into a cemetery, I wouldn’t believe you. If you told me that I’d get rained out of the first visit and go back a second time, I would laugh in your face. If you told me it would be my favorite part of a trip to New Orleans, I’d probably just walk away in disbelief.
Let me explain myself a little bit. Growing up, I had a love-hate relationship with the idea of going to my grandparent’s house. I loved going there, since my Nan was such a good baker and my Pap was a superhero and their house was full of interesting treasures to explore. They had the creepiest basement, but if it was daytime you best believe I’d go down and see what I could find. But I hated it because across the alley from their house was a cemetery. Not just any cemetery, but the creepiest cemetery you could imagine (at least it felt that way to child-Susan). My Pap would tell us the best ghost stories that would scare me senseless, making it almost impossible to fall asleep at night.
I learned to hold my breath when passing a cemetery for fear that one of the deceased would steal my life. I never strayed from my parents side when we attended funerals because I was terrified of stepping on someone’s grave. Upon researching New Orleans and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, I realized I recognized it from various movies and television shows. As I read more and more about it, I came to the conclusion that it was a place we needed to go. What was coming over me?
The McVagabonds 