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Arkansas in Retrospect – the next day

November 10, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 25 Comments

Before you read this, make sure you read part one by clicking HERE… This post won’t mean anything  without the first part of the story.

***
I programmed my GPS for Eureka Springs, Arkansas via Berryville. Berryville added twenty miles to my route in theory, longer considering I would stop to take pictures of whatever caught my eye along the way. It’s what I do.
I took five tree pictures before even leaving the Fayetteville city limits (confusing the heck out of my GPS woman…recalculating…)
Fayetteville, Ar

A few miles before reaching Berryville, I saw a sign for Farmer Cemetery. How could not stop at Farmer Cemetery?
Farmer Cemetery, Berryville, Ar

I stopped even though a graveside service was just concluding. (Yes, I crashed a funeral…recalculating…) Trying to blend in, I nonchalantly strolled underneath the iron gate and walked straight to the largest tombstone as though I belonged there, as though I visited a great-great-relative. 
Ingersoll?

Hmmmm, wasn’t Ingersoll the author of the book I read last night—Arkansas in Retrospect? 

The grave belonged to a couple born in the 1800s—not my book’s author—but still, same last name! Chill bumps…

Was Ingersoll a common name? Probably, I told myself.

Back in my car, I pulled the book from my bag and looked again to make sure the spelling was the same.

It was.

Arkansas in Retrospect, William Henry Ingersoll

We are travelers on a cosmic journey… Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Filed Under: Arkansas, Life Tagged With: Northwest Arkansas

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Comments

  1. Paula Larson says

    November 10, 2013 at 4:55 am

    Well, that gave me goose bumps! I wonder what would Theresa Caputo say?:):):)

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:37 am

      I wonder!

      Reply
  2. My Girls R Angels says

    November 10, 2013 at 5:16 am

    Wow! Incredible! 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:39 am

      I still can’t get my arms around this incredible coincidence.

      Reply
  3. Gayle Glass says

    November 10, 2013 at 5:57 am

    Goosebumps,. for sure. Life throws us gentle reminders that this is, indeed, a small planet, doesn’t it?

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:38 am

      Yes for sure Gayle!

      Reply
  4. Kevin Smith says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:06 am

    Love it.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:39 am

      Thanks Kevin!

      Reply
  5. Kevin Smith says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:06 am

    Love it.

    Reply
  6. Gary Henderson says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:08 am

    I love serendipity like that. You know where you should submit this story? The Odds Must Be Crazy. It’s a website where people submit their stories of wild coincidences, and the experts on statistics who run the site try to give you something approaching the actual odds of it, if they have enough information to go on.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:37 am

      Wow cool Gary. Thanks for the info.

      Reply
  7. Tom Sweeney says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:20 am

    I love it. I’m a stop-and-take-pictures person, too. Not a good trait in combo with my predilection to take back roads in lieu of Interstate highways. Sometimes drives Annette nuts, especially when she is driving … “WAIT! STOP! STOP! … Well then, back up….” oh, yeah, that works 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:38 am

      I find the best things on the back roads! Thanks for commenting Tom. I know it took effort for you – LOL.

      Reply
  8. Patricia A. Laster says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:28 am

    Wait! I hear something in the walls of my writing room! And a shower of leaves rained down before my eyes. Eerie, goosebumpy for sure, just like your great experience with the Ingersolls.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:38 am

      Did you hear the strange howling this morning around 5?

      Reply
  9. Jane Gatewood says

    November 10, 2013 at 6:39 am

    Continue to write…is this Serendipity telling another story?

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 10, 2013 at 6:44 am

      I wonder Jane. I haven’t been able to find much information on Mr. Ingersoll. I did discover he too was buried in this same cemetery although I never saw his tombstone.

      Reply
  10. Dorothy Johnson says

    November 11, 2013 at 5:06 am

    Simply amazing! the quote is perfect for the experience.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 11, 2013 at 5:33 am

      Thanks Dorothy!

      Reply
  11. Diana, Down Home Traveler says

    November 11, 2013 at 6:38 am

    That is incredible! It’s amazing how everything comes together in this world!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 11, 2013 at 8:23 am

      For sure! Thanks Diana.

      Reply
  12. Ashley says

    November 11, 2013 at 7:51 am

    That’s so cool! I love visiting cemeteries (I know that sounds strange). I just like to walk through & look at the headstones, names & dates.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 11, 2013 at 8:23 am

      I often stop and take pictures in cemeteries. The tombstones are history and artwork combined.

      Reply
  13. Gale says

    November 11, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    Wow…what a trip to just stumble on that!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      November 11, 2013 at 7:04 pm

      I agree!

      Reply

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Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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