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The Last Laugh
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/255377
In the Merry Cemetery, grave markers celebrate life with beautiful images and gentle wit



SAPANTA, ROMANIA–Who says that death can't have its lighter side? Certainly not Dumitru Pop. For about 30 years now, he's been taking away some of the sting and adding a little zing to the dreaded inevitable.

Behind the Church of the Assumption in this small town of 5,000 (living) souls in northern Romania there's a unique cemetery, known as the Cimitirul Vesel – the Merry Cemetery.
It's called that with good reason: Each grave is marked, not with an austere, cold stone, but with a lively, beautifully carved wooden cross, painted in the radiant blue of heaven and decorated with a painting and an original poem that disclose a little something about the life and character of the plot's eternal inhabitant.
Some of the verses are wickedly funny, others are more whimsical. Some are heartbreaking, telling of lives tragically cut short by accidents or illnesses.
Pop creates each of these little masterpieces, carrying on a tradition begun in the 1930s by his mentor Ion Stan Patras, who carved the crosses until his death in 1977.
When someone in the village dies, the family comes to Pop and asks him to create a cross, which he hand-carves from oak in the small workshop behind his house, just around the corner from the church.
Pop alone decides what the picture will portray and what the verse will say.
The poems aren't irreverent – they don't mock the grave or its tenant – but some of them do seem, well, a touch indiscreet, telling witty stories of infidelities, indiscretions and a fondness for alcohol.

You'd think that some of the relatives might be miffed, but not so, Pop says.

"It's the real life of a person. If he likes to drink, you say that; if he likes to work, you say that ... there's no hiding in a small town," Pop says, adding that no one has ever complained to him.
"The families actually want the true life of the person to be represented on the cross."
The verses are generally written in the first person, and as you read them, you almost get the feeling that you're having a little conversation with the other side.
You certainly sense that, in some small way, you've come to know the person. Take this one, for example:

"Here I rest.

Stefan is my name.

As long as I lived, I liked to drink.

When my wife left me,

I drank because I was sad.

Then I drank more

to make me happy.

So, it wasn't so bad

that my wife left me,

Because I got to drink

with my friends.

I drank a lot,

and now, I'm still thirsty.

So you who come

to my resting place,

Leave a little wine here."

Even if you can't read Romanian, the simple paintings on the cross tell unmistakable tales of their own.
There's one where a priest sits looking enviously at a group of men carousing at a nearby table; in another, a teacher works at his desk while casting a furtive glance at a woman sitting across the room.
Many just show scenes from everyday life: men working in the fields, women working in the home; or reflect the things the deceased held dear: family, friends, animals, booze.
Even Romania's dour Communist rulers wanted in on the fun.
One former party boss's grave shows him sitting at a table holding up the red hammer-and-sickle symbol.
The inscription reads: "As long as I lived, I loved the Party and all my life I tried to help the people." Hmmm.
Pop says he creates about 20 to 30 crosses per year – depending on ... well, you know.
In the meantime, he, like most people in rural Romania, does some small-scale farming.
He also makes hand-carved furniture and decorative pieces, most of which flaunt his incisive wit.
One three-panelled piece begins with a young couple embracing in the first bloom of love.
The second panel shows the man drinking while the woman sits alone in a corner.
In the final panel, the man sits, with an empty bottle, looking over his shoulder at his wife in the next room with another man.
The cemetery contains about 700 graves and even though it's an extremely popular place – with both the dead and the quick (it's one of Romania's most popular tourist sites) – there's still plenty of room for future occupants, one of whom will be Pop himself.
He's got his plot reserved and is in the process of making sure that the tradition doesn't die off just because he did.
He's training several apprentices to take over.
"But they can't be just anybody," he says.
"They have three jobs to do ... they have to be sculptors, painters and poets, all in one."
Walking through the cemetery as the sun sets, I come upon a memorial to the man who started the whole thing, Ion Stan Patras.
The message carved on it says that he began making the crosses because he loved people and he still wanted to have people come and visit him, even after he died.
He certainly seems to have accomplished that.
One thing's for sure, I can't remember ever smiling so much in a cemetery.

[Czas na Żywiec]

Originally Posted by pt82

your language is funny too my friend. It just takes about 10 seconds of polish dabing on polsat and we cannot stop laughing

excuse him, he's a northern Pole so the way he speaks is quite different. :p Poles from the south see Slovak as the closest langauge to theirs. I can understand you guys 90 - 95% with no problems so we don't laugh hehe.

[koolkid]

I've never been to EE. The closest I have been, however, is to Greenpoint which is a little slice of EE here in N.Y.C. Too bad I never learned Polish. Grandma never shared her polish culture with anyone...

The countriy that i'd like to visit most would be Romania. Comme on, Dracula rocks!

[paszczakoss]

Hi!

Here are some mine experiences and reflections about EE countries I've visited:

Czech Republic

Nice, and peacefull country, public spaces in cities are well taken care of, beautiful Prague (overcrouded though), delicious beer and the way people drink it - with passion. "Nehnevej se żeno ma - kde je pivo - tam sem ja"
Still, in some situations I didn't feel comfortable being Polish - in a pub, or a shop - probably some negative image of a Pole in Czechia? I don't know, but still I'd love to visit your country again, and I'll surely do it in the future!

Slovakia

Seemed to me even more peacefull than Czech Rep. - some villages and towns look as if they were abandoned!
The places I've visited were all clean, and taken care of. People were friendly and helpful. All this + beautiful nature makes me feel very warm about Slovakia, seems like a good place to spend holidays, especially when you want to have some rest.

Hungary

I've been there only once, a couple of years ago, during summer holidays.
I've got some positive feelings about Budapest, especially about its public transportation system - HEV, Metro and trams (Villamos?) - all of them were very punctual.
The swimming pool complex at Margareth Island was really cool.
The language seemed to be totally incomprehensible to me, but I didn't have any communication problems with Hungarians, they all seemed to be very cheerful and helpful.

Bulgaria

I've visited it twice - in 2005 and this summer.

Maybe first, the negative aspects:

It's very dirty, and rubbish is simply everywhere! I just couldn't believe it sometimes, how on earth you can neglect your beutiful beaches (tonnes of ciggarets in the sand).
Big hotel building chaos - in some places it looked as if there were no authorities who could allow or forbid building a hotel. It seemed to be a bit disorganized.
The buses didn't seem to be linked with the time scheudle in any way they just arrived and departed whenever they wanted to

What I found interesting and different from my region is that almost every man was wearing tonnes of golden bracelets, and other jewellery on them. Even in the swimming pools! Really odd

And now positive aspects

Bulgaria has a great location - the weather was just perfect, hot and sunny - just as I'd imagined it would be. Beautiful seaside, beautiful landscapes.
Bulgarian food is what I will remember till the end of my life - it was just so unbelievably tasty! People seemed to be very chilled out, always smiling, and with a very positive attitude towards Poles.
I've visited 2 aquaparks at the seaside, and I can say that I've never been to a better one before. All that positive climate makes me think of Bulgaria as of one of my next holiday trips, that' definitely a place to visit!

Cheers!

[Делян]

Originally Posted by paszczakoss

What I found interesting and different from my region is that almost every man was wearing tonnes of golden bracelets, and other jewellery on them. Even in the swimming pools! Really odd

Where did you see so many gypsies, even in the swimming pool? Really odd.

[paszczakoss]

Originally Posted by delyan

Where did you see so many gypsies, even in the swimming pool? Really odd.

I didn't say they were gypsies, they were Bulgarians. Gypsies didn't have anything, except the will of getting some money out from me...

[Делян]

I've never seen a Bulgarian to wear a ton of gold, even a gram of gold! Are you sure you were in Bulgaria or the gold wearing people were Bulgarians?

[new bulgaria]

Originally Posted by delyan

Where did you see so many gypsies, even in the swimming pool? Really odd.

The hotel probably catered to foreigners and "wealthy" Bulgarians. As we know, our new money is all about show off. That's why they are called new money. They like their "bling"; simply disgusting. I never wore gold and never will.

Giving is a second though, these "well-to-do" guys must not have had that much gold, otherwise they would have drowned in the pool.

[new bulgaria]

Originally Posted by delyan

I've never seen a Bulgarian to wear a ton of gold, even a gram of gold! Are you sure you were in Bulgaria or the gold wearing people were Bulgarians?

Delyan, when was the last time you were in BG? Mutras always wear gold!! It goes well with the mafia look.

[RawLee]

Originally Posted by paszczakoss

I didn't say they were gypsies, they were Bulgarians. Gypsies didn't have anything, except the will of getting some money out from me...

The wealthier gypsies(whom the poorer ones give their money because of customs),usually wear golden stuff. Thats how they show their "rank"(at least,here).

[bgrs]

Originally Posted by delyan

I've never seen a Bulgarian to wear a ton of gold, even a gram of gold! Are you sure you were in Bulgaria or the gold wearing people were Bulgarians?

I wear some gold, heh And I'm neither a gypo, nor a mutra

[Делян]

Originally Posted by new bulgaria

Delyan, when was the last time you were in BG? Mutras always wear gold!! It goes well with the mafia look.

Mutras, gypsies, what's the difference?

[Делян]

Originally Posted by bgrs

I wear some gold, heh And I'm neither a gypo, nor a mutra

How many tons?

[bgrs]

Eheh, just I few grams I think. I cannot compare with the mutras and gypos

[bgrs]

BTW even mutras have changed. I don't think most of them wear tons of gold. They still like expensive cars though. Black ones preferred..

[Делян]

Originally Posted by paszczakoss

I didn't say they were gypsies, they were Bulgarians. Gypsies didn't have anything, except the will of getting some money out from me...

I am pretty sure that you probably met Misho Shamara (Мишо Шамара) and his entourage in the swimming pool. They are from Varna......



source: http://nc.cult.bg/nname/2007/06/1.html

[bgrs]

Nope, Misho Plesnikov is currently selling Hamburgers...err pardon, killing guys and stealing cars in the USA

[new bulgaria]

Originally Posted by bgrs

BTW even mutras have changed. I don't think most of them wear tons of gold. They still like expensive cars though. Black ones preferred..

No, they just don't put it on top of their shirts to be less obtrusive, but once they are in the pool, they can't hide it.

[new bulgaria]

Originally Posted by delyan

I am pretty sure that you probably met Misho Shamara (Мишо Шамара) and his entourage in the swimming pool. They are from Varna......

Misho Shamara resides in NY. He can't go back to BG because their is a warrant against him.

[RawLee]

Originally Posted by paszczakoss

Hungary

I've been there only once, a couple of years ago, during summer holidays.
I've got some positive feelings about Budapest, especially about its public transportation system - HEV, Metro and trams (Villamos?) - all of them were very punctual.
The swimming pool complex at Margareth Island was really cool.
The language seemed to be totally incomprehensible to me, but I didn't have any communication problems with Hungarians, they all seemed to be very cheerful and helpful.

No negative things?wow!Thank you!
BTW,yes,its "villamos".