ODD TOMBSTONE...

Walt sent me this photo...


Now, I have been pondering this most of the day while mowing seven million acres of grass. And I've got to say that this is one of the oddest tombstones that I have ever seen. From a comedic point of view, the family name, "Butt" is enough to make you leak snot. Add to that the fact that the moron that arranged for the sandblasting felt it necessary to note that these two departed souls were "brothers."

I mean...WHAT??? Were they worried that passersby would think this was some sort of a gay married couple that were WAY ahead of their time, and felt it appropriate to engrave "BUTT BROTHERS?" (I'll wait while you get the subtlety in that one)

two...three...four...

And I thought to myself, "I wonder if these two Butt Brothers maybe were a comedy team...or a magician team...like Siegfried and Tiger Boy Roy (or Penn and Teller)." "Or, maybe they had a really hot musical combo like Richard and Karen Carpenter. But instead of being The Butts, they were billed as The Butt Brothers."

So, I did an exhaustive search of the worldwide computer, and came up with ZERO that would justify this headstone. The only "Butt Brothers" that I can find are some dudes in Lahore, Pakistan that make rugs. You gotta love their computer page...they make it very plain that they "strongly condemn child labor!" Good on 'em!!! Heck, I think I'll buy my next bathroom rugs from these guys! Definitely...maybe...probably not. And there is some Brit "BUTT BROTHERS" outfit that deals scrap metal in Pakistan. (I'm thinking "Butt" must be a pretty common name in Pakistan...kinda like Smith, or Jones in the US, or "Begay" in Navajoland, or "Wang" etc...).

But on a less than funny plane of thought (as if the other was 'funny'), there is something very odd about this. I have seen hundreds of two-holer tombstones. And in my memory, EVERY SINGLE ONE sat above a husband and wife that had taken the dirt nap. Sure, I've seen "family plots" where brothers would be buried alongside each other...or next to a sister...or next to Ma & Pa. But a "shared tombstone" for two brothers is just really weird.

Now, I could see it if they were, say, conjoined twins. That would be quite appropriate. But the dates of their birth are separated by 6 years. You talk about a long, painful labor for Ma Butt...

And, it is doubly odd that they died on the same day of the year...exactly one year apart. I'm wondering if that's a Butt family deal. "Okay, it's April 28...whose turn is it to croak?"

Regardless, this is odd. Not to make light of the passing of the BUTT BROTHERS, as I am sure they were fine men...probably had wives and children (which I mean no offense to)... But even if you were related to these BUTT BROTHERS, and had great affection for them, ya' gotta admit that somebody really screwed the pooch when they got planted.

I'm just saying...