406. All Souls Day

In the litany of Saints Days observed by Catholics, Episcopalians, and others, today is All Souls Day, a day set aside to remember our loved ones who have gone on to whatever reward they are entitled according to their faith. One name for the celebration is the Feast of the Faithfully Departed. Some Spanish speaking countries, especially Mexico, observe it as the Day of the Dead, or en Espanol (and I know I need a little tilde over the "n") El Dia de Los Muertos.

It is the religious equivalent to the secular holiday once known as Decoration Day and now generally known as Memorial Day observed in May. The celebration today combines with All Saints Day, which was yesterday, for several days of feasting, remembering all the saints and sinners who have played roles in our lives.

On this day, as we approach Tuesday's election, I'm reminded that like the saying "There are no atheists in foxholes," there is also no politics in cemeteries. Of the people for whom their memory is special, for some of them, I know their politics; for others I do not. One of my first entries was a discussion of my great-grandmother Rachel Brawner Lewis. I do not know what her politics were. She was a farmer-wife in Franklin County where most people then as now were Democrats. I do know her daughter, my grandmother, was a Democratic die-hard, although I'm not sure where she would fit in today's Democratic Party. My grandfather was a Union carpenter and boss. He was decidedly Democratic.

My other grandparents were small business owners and fairly non-political as far as I know. I have no idea how either of them were registered or if they were faithful voters. My belief is they were probably Republicans. Their son, my Uncle Don, who died in 2005, was an avowed liberal who as a Louisville Alderman in the 1960s marched for civil rights and voted for Open Housing reforms, reforms which got him voted out of office. He later found faults with the sometimes less-than-liberal Democratic Party of which he was a member. My (great) Uncle Bob, who died earlier this year, like most of his brothers, was a Democrat. Uncle Bob was Sheriff of Franklin County.

I mentioned my grandmother the Democratic activist. It was she, along with Mildred Shumate, Dottie Priddy, and Carolyn Beauchamp, all deceased, all Democrats, who involved me in Okolona and Fairdale politics when I was not yet ten years old. Again, though, their Democratic Party was not quite the left-leaning Party we now enjoy; it was closer to the old Dixiecrats in the south. My grandmother was a Hubert Humphrey supporter and before she died in February, 1976, predicted Jimmy Carter's nomination and election later that year.

I've had four close friends die over time. None were political as they were all rather young at the time of their deaths. Of Eric, Rob, another Rob, and Gary, Eric was a patrician Republican. He was a great guy. His father, who was an alderman, and his paternal grandmother, were active in local Republican politics. When I ran for a seat on the Jefferson Fiscal Court in 1985, Eric's grandmother was a proud supporter and allowed me to post my yardsign in her yard, the only Republican sign I had in H-123, a precinct since obliterated by the expansion of Standiford Field. The first Rob mentioned above was Jewish actor who left Louisville to go away to college and never returned, except to be interred at Cave Hill at too young of an age. We kept in touch when he left town, but he never disclosed any political beliefs of any kind. The second Rob, a very dear friend, would have undoubetedly been a Democrat, but a moderate one at best. He died before turning 18. He attended several political events with me and was interested in the presidential race which was scheduled for the year after he died. Finally Gary was an older guy, a small businessman who operated restaurants, but he didn't participate in politics to my knowledge. He was from Spencer County originally which was a decidedly conservative Democratic county until Reagan came along, when it started turning shades of red, which it is still doing.

So, on this All Souls Day ahead of the election, I'll send up a prayer to those who have moved on. How they would vote, I have no idea. And since there really isn't any politics in graveyards (anymore), it really doesn't matter.