It was overcast in Northern Ohio on the morning of July 17, 2013; but there was no threat of rain – which was always a good thing. The first and only scheduled stop for the final day of the trip was at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio; which was only a 20-mile ride from Mentor. As we travelled the final few miles to the cemetery, the route took us through what appeared to be a dicier section of eastern Cleveland. Even though I was stashed away in my protective case, that padded case wasn’t bullet proof. I would hate to be killed on the way to a cemetery. Once we got through the large iron gates of Lake View, I felt totally safe; it seemed quiet and tranquil. Lake View Cemetery was huge; over 104,000 people were interred there, but we only had to find one of them – President James Garfield. After about ten minutes of driving and map reading, we finally found what we had come for – and it did not disappoint. As I was removed from my protective case and carried to the front of the James A. Garfield Memorial, I was at a loss for words. While William McKinley’s tomb was spectacular, Garfield’s tomb was beyond words to describe it. At 180-feet high and constructed of dark Ohio sandstone, the monument was breathtaking and scary at the same time. While there were lighter engraved reliefs surrounding the dark, stone structure that depicted Garfield’s life, there were also what appeared to be sculpted gargoyles that protruded from the corners of the monument as well. The only thought going through my resin-filled mind was: If the outside is that spectacular, what does the interior look like? Let’s take a peak at the final resting place of James and Lucretia Garfield!
Once the final photos were captured of me in the crypt, I was carefully placed back into my protective case and carried back up the spiral stairs to the awaiting car. It was time to head home to Michigan. Roughly five minutes into the ride (we likely weren’t out of the cemetery yet) everything went blank. I don’t know what happened or how it happened; but everything went silent. It’s usually dark inside the case when it’s zipped shut, but at that moment it was as though I was dead. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, and I couldn’t think; I was a goner! My photographer will tell the rest of the story of what he had witnessed:
Thomas Watson – My wife Vicki was driving the Avenger for the first leg of our journey home. As we got close to the Indians’ ballpark, Progressive Field, I decided that I wanted to snap a photo of the stadium as we drove past. I unzipped the top of the camera bag, which had been carefully placed near my feet on the floor of the passenger seat, and I opened the top flap of the case to grab the camera. At that moment, I was aghast at what I saw. I even let out a slight gasp that caused Vicki to think that I had noticed a cop. “The head is gone!” I yelled out. “What do you mean the head is gone?” she replied. “Jefferson’s head is missing. His body is there and the spring is sticking straight up into the air. His head is gone!” Vicki sarcastically replied: “Don’t tell me we have to turn around and go back to that cemetery? Where’s the head?” In an effort to find the head, I slowly slid Jefferson’s body up from his snug sanctuary; when much to my astonishment, I found TJ’s head situated sideways at the bottom of the case. The bobble head’s body had been on top of it. Keep in mind, there was no room for the fairly large head of Jefferson to slide between the side of the case and the bobble head’s body; not to mention it ended up beneath the body. Also, what could have caused the head to become unattached from the spring in the first place? Once I had located the head, Vicki asked the obvious question: “How did it get under the body? You must’ve accidentally knocked the head off when you put it back into the case.” “I didn’t accidentally knock his head off. I take better care of that bobble head than I did our first-born child!” I replied in a caustic tone. “Then how do you think it came off?” she rebutted. “The only thing that would possibly explain this, and I know this sounds far-fetched, is Garfield’s ghost removed the head and put it under the body. There is no other rational explanation – and to be honest, that explanation isn’t all that rational either”. Around 2:30pm we pulled into our driveway and unpacked the car. Once we were situated and settled in for the rest of the day, I found a packet of Elmer’s ‘Tac ‘N Stik’ and reunited Thomas Jefferson’s head with his body. At first I wasn’t sure the “surgery” would work, but the Tac seemed to hold just fine; plus as a bonus, I got the head on straight. Once the surgery was over, I began to examine the digital images that were captured inside of the tomb to see if there were any unusual anomalies on the photos. After intense scrutiny of the images over several days, nothing out of the ordinary was found. Although the mystery of Thomas Jefferson’s head remained unsolved, it wouldn’t be the last time the bobble head would visit that tomb. It will return at some point – you can count on that!
