Over the past week since last Thursday (June 3rd) I’ve uploaded new videos to my You Tube page like a psychotic madman. There are about fifteen new videos uploaded for your viewing enjoyment.

A few things I’m starting to add for the videos include making them shorter usually under four minutes long. I’m also starting to do voice-over narration.  As far as making the videos shorter I’ve come to realize that the average person who would watch one of the video’s I’ve uploaded to You Tube would probably get bored beyond belief sitting there watching a video longer than five minutes. So I’ve decided to make them shorter. This in turn would mean there will be more videos to watch but shorter in duration.

As for the voice narration. I’ve discussed this with various friends of mine and I’ve come to realize the videos I make would look more professional if I did voice over narration. So I’m going to play around with that until I get the hang of it.

Finally I’m going to Chicago again this Saturday. Its been about two years since I’ve visited the Windy City. As previously noted in the post I made a while back titled “Movie Stars & Mafioso’s” the theme for this trip will be to track down the gravesites of gangsters, celebrities, and some Medal of Honor Recipients thrown in. I’m really excited about this trip as it will give me a chance to get away from Detroit for a week. And it will give me a chance to partake in some grave hunting in some territory I’m somewhat unfamiliar with.

In the coming days I’ll be doing another post where I’ll give a rundown of next weeks cemetery goals in Chicago.  So stay tuned.

Being a “Grave Hunter” I’ve come to accept death to varying degrees. I suppose it doesn’t hit you in the face until someone you’ve come to know over the past five or more years is there one day but the next day he or she is gone. As in the case of my stepfather.

This past Sunday May the 16th I was downtown grave hunting until my heart’s content at Elmwood. While dancing around the cemetery, taking photos, shooting video footage, and having one hell of a time. The day came to a shattering halt around 10am when my dad called me. Usually around that time he’s in Church so I thought it was odd that he called me when I figured he’d be praising the big guy in the sky.

After getting back to my car from shooting some video I checked the missed call and noticed it was my dad. So thinking how odd it was for him to call me I called him back. Thinking something might have happened to my 80-year-old grandmother I was worried she died. But as I soon found out it was my moms husband my stepfather who passed away. So I immediately stopped what I was doing and headed home.

The thing is I wasn’t really close to my stepfather Joe. But he was like a friend who always gave me advice in a godly sort of way.  He always treated my mom with the utmost respect like a man should, not only that but he worshiped the ground my mom walked on. My stepfather Joe was like an extended part of my mom’s side of the family. I’m just sad to see him go.  I just hope he rests peacefully in heaven.

Joe, I know your watching over us in heaven I can’t tell you how much I appreciated you treating my mom like a queen and worshiping the ground she walked on, and bent over backwards for her. For that I thank you.

That’s the title and theme of my upcoming trip to Chicago. After compiling an extensive  list of gangland, and actor/actress names to research. Then realizing that I’d be wasting precious time looking up obituaries online.  I’ve decided to use the resources I have at my disposal in the form of books such  “Resting Places: The Burial Sites Of Over 10,000 Famous Persons” by Scott Wilson and websites such as Find A Grave. I was able to narrow down the search a bit.

If neither of my resources could offer anything. I’ll have to resort to my next tactic and tool which is calling the various cemeteries in the Chicagoland area. This tactic I’m currently engaging in.  Fortunately the Catholic cemeteries in Chicago are all networked together compliments of the Chicago Archdiocese. This made my job a lot easier for the most part.

I still have several names to research I’m going to try to track down the grave site locations of as many names as I can. I’ve had lots of luck thus far. For the names I’m not able to track down with the help of books, the internet, or calling the cemeteries, I’m going to have to track down obituaries online.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but this is a very tedious process. But in the end it all works out. Me being a die-hard grave hunter to the core I’ll never give up. I may take breaks from the hobby now and then. But I see this whole research aspect as a scavenger hunt. The same goes for when I’m in the field taking photographs.

When I feel that I’ve done enough research and obtained the locations of enough names to keep me busy for a week. The research phase will come to a close. But keep in mind I’ll more than likely post a list of who I plan to track down. So you get a general idea of what I plan to do and what I’m up against.