Sit and Be Rested
I noticed Scotland's benches first in Edinburgh.
There were several of these positioned along Princes St and for our aching feet, they were a welcoming respite.
What was interesting for me though were the metal plaques attached to them. Instead of simply having the names of the donors engraved, these had inscriptions similar to a tombstone. Dedicating a bench and placing a brief statement epitomizing a loved one on the bench for all to read, seems to give things deeper connotation.
A simple bench can serve as physical extension of a loved one who past away.
Sitting on a bench dedicated to a departed loving wife might possibly ease out some of the loneliness from a husband left behind.
Traversing through the rough trail to the Stirling castle, I chanced upon a bench with a plaque that read, " Enjoy the view as we have. Bill and June Salmond".
I glanced at the view and wondered how many hours the couple spent sitting on this bench...enjoying the view and each others' company .
I may never know who Bill and June were but I felt the bench allowed me to have a glimpse of their life as a couple... an observer of their love story! The experience was very romantic, very surreal!
Some people prepare their own obituaries, some their headstone epitaphs.
If given the chance, I would like to be a bench on a busy street, calling no attention to self, comfortable being unnoticed, but always welcoming anyone needing rest and always willing to listen even if the conversation is one sided.
If given the chance, I would like to have my metal plaque read as:
" Dedicated to the one who lived and died almost always a little bit off. Sit and be rested... for more than anything else, a good conversation she has always appreciated..."
There were several of these positioned along Princes St and for our aching feet, they were a welcoming respite.
What was interesting for me though were the metal plaques attached to them. Instead of simply having the names of the donors engraved, these had inscriptions similar to a tombstone. Dedicating a bench and placing a brief statement epitomizing a loved one on the bench for all to read, seems to give things deeper connotation.
A simple bench can serve as physical extension of a loved one who past away.
Sitting on a bench dedicated to a departed loving wife might possibly ease out some of the loneliness from a husband left behind.
Traversing through the rough trail to the Stirling castle, I chanced upon a bench with a plaque that read, " Enjoy the view as we have. Bill and June Salmond".
I glanced at the view and wondered how many hours the couple spent sitting on this bench...enjoying the view and each others' company .
I may never know who Bill and June were but I felt the bench allowed me to have a glimpse of their life as a couple... an observer of their love story! The experience was very romantic, very surreal!
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| Bench along the rough trail to Stirling castle |
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| The dedication... |
Some people prepare their own obituaries, some their headstone epitaphs.
If given the chance, I would like to be a bench on a busy street, calling no attention to self, comfortable being unnoticed, but always welcoming anyone needing rest and always willing to listen even if the conversation is one sided.
If given the chance, I would like to have my metal plaque read as:
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| The view while on the bench |
Comments
"I hold your doctrine of Memento Mori
And were an epitaph to be my story,
I’d have a short one ready for my own.
I would have written of me on my stone:
I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.”