We live a stone's throw away from Colma, the Bay Area's cemetery central. In the early 1900's (before the quake), the city of San Francisco banned any further burials in the city limits. Colma, just south of San Francisco, sprung up with several large cemeteries. In the mid 30's, SF actually took the next step, and disinterred all of the graves in the city (with the exception of the Presidio National Cemetery) and relocated all the bodies to Colma.
As a result, we have a number of notable people buried very close to where we live.
Occasionally, I like to pass through some of these places. Many of them are quite beautiful, containing huge ornate crypts, massive beautiful scultpured monuments, and the like.
Passing through Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, I was struck by the sight of an unusual black crypt. Closer examination showed bats and balls among the decorations around it. This was the final resting place of Giuseppi (anglicized to Joseph) Paul DiMaggio -- Joltin' Joe, the Yankee Clipper.
This man had 2214 hits and 361 home runs in 10 seasons with the Yankees. In the summer of 1941, he hit safely in 56 consecutive games, a record that still stands.
He served his country with distinction in WW2, even though he wasn't allowed to fight in theater (the loss of such a great man was considered by the military to be too much of potential morale loss to risk).
Then, on a late summer day in 1952, he had a blind date with a young blond actress...
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