I wrote about the duct-taped obelisk, subsequently restored, last fall (Duct Tape Obelisk). It’s real—or it was—and it gave me a springboard or an excuse or a pretext to think about birthdays in cemeteries and restoration and rebellion and loss. Some of which made it into a short story, “Give that Girl a Wilson Cigar!”, currently featured on the Saranac Review website (thank you!).
I was in the cemetery again recently, one of those sunny almost-warm spring days that cry out for a sandwich outside, not at the desk. The cemetery, as befits a historic site, has a noticeboard. The noticeboard, as it ought, includes relevant warnings. Be careful: historic monuments may be hazardous to your health.