Visiting Uncle Sam

I had to drop the Man (just back from Montreal) at work today, and decided on a whim to go and visit the grave of Uncle Sam in Troy, something I've been meaning to do for, oh, about three years.

For British readers Uncle Sam is an iconic figure who crops up rather a lot, especially in parades and at ball games, often on stilts and dressed in a sparkly red, white and blue three-piece tailcoat outfit to go with his extra tall stars-and-stripes top hat.  So I have to admit, I was half expecting (and rather hoping) to find his grave surrounded by razzamatazz - balloons, streamers, marching bands and the like.

But no, it is a very low-key monument, in contrast to the many grand obelisks and mausoleums of the same period found in the sprawling Oakwood Cemetery.  Signage to the site is discreet and you actually have to look quite hard to find the simple stone with its restrained patriotic floral tributes almost hidden by fallen leaves. 

I visited, but only for a few minutes.  Though I don't think cemeteries are spooky (in fact I find them quite reassuring) it was just too cold to hang around for long.