Eileen Ann Brennan

Almost Home

Day 28 of my sojourn up the East coast and almost the last day. I head out on Sunday and plan to be in the land of milk and honey - or rather gators and oranges - on Monday. This trip has been a fantastic event of researching sites (and sights) for future books. As of today I satisfied the last item on my ‘to do’ list with visiting a cemetery with my mom. (Yeah, I'm working on another Lite Paranormal) Now, I’ve been to several cemeteries during my visit - there is a fascinating one near Ocean City NJ with early 18th century graves and another one that overlooks a highway and the new “Stop and Shop” - and they had a sense of contentment and caring (based on the items left near the headstones) about them. But the one I visited today was one of the creepiest I‘ve ever been to. Obviously, I didn’t say a word to Mom. We were there to visit my grandparents and several of her friends. She was the first to mention how spooky and cold it was.


Row after row after row of headstones all the same height, a few different shapes, as far as you could see; few flowers and very impersonal, or so it seemed to us. Now, I’ve been to Arlington National Cemetery many times where every headstone is laid out in rows but it’s very peaceful and I’ve never been creeped out there. Both Mother and I didn’t want to be anywhere near this place after dark. (Her words not mine.)

Well this little odyssey of a month on the road to renew my Jersey roots has been fantastic but I’m now looking forward to returning to the Sunshine State and putting what I found into some new stories. I discovered a lot and can’t wait to weave some magic around it.

Sometimes getting away has a way of bringing you back home again.