For Margaret Lemanski, Christmas has been marred by a theft that picks the open sore of her grief. During a memorial event at Grandview Cemetery in Maryville, Tennessee, she placed two battery-operated, lighted Christmas trees at the grave of her grandson, Leviticus Crabtree, who died in October 2007 shortly after his birth.
The trees were stolen less than 24 hours later.
Lemanski’s grandson is buried at Grandview Cemetery, and the family participated in this year’s Christmas luminary event at the cemetery on December 12. To honor the memories of the departed, surviving family members place candles and other decorations at their loved ones’ grave sites. Families make a donation to the Empty Pantry Fund as part of the event.
When Lemanski visited her grandson’s grave Saturday morning, the trees she and her family had placed on the grave were missing. “His grandpa fixes him a tree and his mother fixes him a tree,” she said. “And those were what was stolen.”
Lemanski’s late husband is also interred at Grandview. When she discovered the theft of the Christmas trees from her grandson’s grave, she immediately checked her husband’s as well. That site was undisturbed.
“The staff wouldn’t take Christmas trees off. I know that for a fact; the cemetery staff wouldn’t have,” Lemanski said, adding that she was sure her late husband’s tree would have been removed as well if the trees were taken down by cemetery caretakers. She had not been able to contact Grandview Cemetery staff as of Saturday, but said she reported the theft to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
She suspects that the proximity of her grandson’s grave to the roadway made the trees placed near his grave marker an easy target. According to Lemanski, her grandson is buried “right beside the road. It’s easily accessible to people who want to snatch and grab something and steal it.”
Lemanski is most upset that the stolen trees were decorated with personal items that were meaningful to the family. “I bought him personal items last year to put on the tree and we bought him personal stuff again this year. It’s just special stuff we got fixed on his tree,” she said.
The monetary value of the theft was minimal, but the emotional impact was devastating, Lemanski said.
“You know what they cost? Three-ninety-nine ($3.99) a strand. There were three strands on each tree,” she added. “How ridiculous is it for someone to steal something like that?
“I don’t understand why anybody would do that. You just want to do something in memory of them. And it breaks your heart.
*
I wrote the story you just read for The Daily Times. Because it was a newspaper article, I couldn’t say everything that needs to be said about the situation.
Here’s the story behind the story.
*
Margaret Lemanski found me on Saturday, December 13 while I was standing outside the Daily Times building, smoking a cigarette.
She marched past me with purpose, not even noticing me, it seemed. She had shimmering eyes. She had a quivering voice. I almost heard her heart break when she tried the door and found it locked. She turned back toward me and spoke for the first time.
“Are they closed?” She asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “we’re closed for the weekend.”
“Isn’t anyone in there working?”
“Well, yeah. But we’re clos—”
She didn’t let me finish.
“I need someone to write me an article,” she said.
And she began pouring her heart out to me. She was in tears as she spoke. The fresh grief of her infant grandson’s death was raked up and torn open by an act that was probably contemplated for all of thirty seconds.
In one thoughtless theft, and one reckless decision, a woman’s soul was wrung out once again; and there were still tears left to fall.
*
Margaret Lemanski called me On December 15. She had visited her grandson’s grave and discovered that the stolen trees were “thrown back around the grave.”
Lemanski said she didn’t know if the thieves were frightened by the fact that the theft had been reported to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office or whether “God beat them up all night,” but she was grateful that the trees were returned.
It’s probably not true, but it was gratifying to think for a moment or two that maybe my article had something to do with the return.
*
I’m going to be brutally honest. My first inclination was to ignore Mrs. Lemanski. It’s not rare to have someone show up at the office asking to have an article written. And most of the time, even though the story means so much to the teller, it’s just not newsworthy.
My cyncial assumption was that Mrs. Lemanski’s story would fall into that category.
I was wrong.
We can’t editorialize in a news story; and we can’t pursue an agenda for anyone. I understand why these rules are important. But, at the same time, stories like Margaret Lemanski’s deserve more than a “just the facts ma’am” approach. These stories deserve to be told. These are the stories I believe are the most important any journalist will ever write
And I shudder to think that, if I hadn’t rebuked my inclination, I would have been another cold heart tearing at this grieving grandmother’s open wounds.
The Year in Music: 2008
I think it’s safe to say 2008 is the year Rock came back.
On November 23, Axl Rose finally put a period at the end of what was arguably the biggest story in music. Guns N’ Roses “new” album (does it qualify as a “new release” if it takes the better part of two decades to produce?) hit the streets.
Chinese Democracy was so anticipated that Dr. Pepper gave everyone in America (except Slash) a free drink to celebrate the album’s release. Of course, because Dr. Pepper chose to get involved with Axl Rose, they’re now on the receiving end of the opening salvo of a legal battle.
It doesn’t get much more Rock and Roll than that.
But what’s more interesting to me is the incredible string of albums that led up to the release of Democracy. It seems as if the entire pantheon of rock legends decided to drop a record in ‘08. And every one of those albums amounted to little more than an opening act for Rose’s record.
We had new albums from White Lion, Whitesnake, Judas Priest, Alice Cooper (ALICE COOPER!) and Motley Crue. Rush put out a live record and Faith No More gave us a greatest hits compilation. AC/DC got in bed with Wal-Mart and released Black Ice in an exclusive arrangement with the worlds largest retailer — save yourself twelve bucks and dig through your closet for your original vinyl copy of Back in Black.
And non-rock acts got in on the action too. New Kids on the Block got back together for The Block. I wonder how many 35 year old women ran out to buy this the day it was released. They were probably all screaming “Donnie!” too. An even more surprising re-appearance was Vanilla Ice, turning in the aptly titled “Vanilla Ice is Back,” which I didn’t bother to listen to.
A quartet of albums brought us all back to the Reagan years. The Cure, The Breeders and Bauhaus all put out new collections, while Morrisey dropped a greatest hits retrospective. Not a bad year for ’80s Death Rock fans.
This year gave us more than just new releases by old faces though. A lot of albums by younger artists were released in 2008 as well.
It seems Panic At the Disco spent every waking moment since the release of their first album listening to Sgt. Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band and renaissance music. Then they somehow digested that into the really-quite-wonderful Pretty. Odd. which was released early in 2008. Fall Out Boy bracketed the year with its own new release: Folie à Deux. These records are a little softer edged than either band’s earlier releases; but both are infinitely listenable — and some tracks are, honestly, just about perfect (like this one).
On the Pop/Rock front, December was very good to us. In addition to the Fall Out Boy release, we got a new album from the All-American Rejects. And nobody does this genre like the Rejects. Nobody. When the World Comes Down is a solid record from start to finish.
Actress Scarlett Johansson released a truly weird record. Anywhere I Lay My Head is an album of (mostly) Tom Waits cover songs sung by Johansson as a sub-alto, bizarro-universe Annie Lennox. Her voice is actually more grating than Waits’, if you can imagine that. But fans of Waits may enjoy these interpretations. And there’s a chance that Johansson’s stylings may be an acquired taste, though I very much doubt this is true.
Both Jason Mraz and Gavin DeGraw put out new pop music buffets. You can say what you want about the ability or sentiment of artists like Mraz and Degraw, but you can’t deny that, sometimes, a little sugar coated pop nugget is just what the doctor ordered. I defy you to listen to I Have You to Thank (from DeGraw’s self-titled sophomore outing) and not bop your head and smile for a minute or two.
Britney Spears put out a record. It was called Circus. You make your own joke here.
In the world of Rap, there were several new releases that I paid absolutely no attention to. Snoop Dogg dropped Ego Trippin’ (ya think?) and was completely upstaged by Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III. Lil Wayne is currently the best rapper out there, period.
“But wait!” I hear you saying. “What about Kanye West? He put out a new record this year too.”
I know. And I listened to it. And it’s a wonderful record. 808s & Heartbreak is one of the best records of the year. But it’s not a Rap album. 808s is a gorgeous piece of Pop Art that refutes genre definitions. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an artist do as a good a job of setting a mood from track one and keeping it consistent for every track on the disc. By the end of the record, you kinda feel like you got punched in the gut.
And, while we’re on the subject of Rap albums that defy genre, I have to mention M.I.A. Kala was re-released this year. And this record is the finest blend of Hip Hop, Techno and World Music that I’ve heard.
Girl Talk put out Feed The Animals as a follow-up to The Night Ripper and It Feels Like This. It’s worth a listen for the novelty if nothing else. The record features songs you know and love cut up and mashed up with original music and Hip Hop cuts from various artists. The New York Times Magazine got it right when they called Girl Talk’s music “a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
Red of Tooth and Claw was released this year by Bloomington, Indiana Indie/Post-punk quartet Murder By Death. This collection of songs is spookier than a zombie movie. Lead singer/guitarist Adam Turla sounds like the ghost of Johnny Cash in a street fight with Roy Orbison.
Ryan Adams and his new band The Cardinals gave us Cardinology in 2008. This record is every bit as wonderful as I’ve come to expect from Adams and company. Cardinology seems to be a delivery on Adam’s claim that he is primarily influenced by classic rock. This disc shows that influence and is an instant classic in it’s own right.
If quirky pop is your thing, a trio of releases this year should make you pretty happy. Vampire Weekend’s self-titled outing and Skeletal Lamping by of Montreal are both excellent releases with interesting melodic twists and subject matter that hops between the ethereal and mundane. There are moments when both bands seem to be weird for its own sake, but these moments are well-balanced with great tunes that give the listener a quick pop pick-me-up while retaining a quirky and charming self-consciousness.
Rounding out our quirk-pop trio is the latest offering from Death Cab for Cutie. Narrow Stairs is a wonderful collection of easy-to-listen-to tracks that offer new bits of ear candy on repeated listens. There’s no shortage of gems, but Your New Twin Sized Bed is one of the best songs of this year, bar none.
Finally, here are my top five album picks for 2008.
5.) A Tie! Panic at the Disco — Pretty. Odd. AND Fall Out Boy — Folie à Deux
4.) Kanye West — 808s & Heartbreak
3.) Murder by Death — Red of Tooth and Claw
2.) Death Cab for Cutie — Narrow Stairs
1.) Ryan Adams and the Cardinals — Cardinology