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Pet cemetery provides
proper resting place
By Ann Stack
Senior Reporter
A death in the family is always a tough thing to handle.
The pain of knowing that the comfort your loved one provided is
gone — that you’ll never feel that soft body next to you, that that cold
wet nose will never press itself into the warm place on the back of your
neck again—is sometimes too much to bear.
That’s where the Rolling Acres Pet Cemetery, Crematory, Funeral
Home, Gift Shop and Feline Resort comes in. Owner Pat Stmot started
Rolling Acres, 400 S. 134 St., 20 years ago after the death of her four
legged friend.
Rolling Acres offers a variety of services depending on the needs of
the family. The gift shop specializes in gifts for pet lovers, including
jewelry, T-shirts, picture frames, wind chimes, key chains, ceramic stat
ues, stuffed animals and mugs.
The cemetery has more than 7,000 residents. A statue of St. Francis,
patron saint of animals, stands guard in the middle of the sprawling
plot. Many of the graves have inscriptions like “Beloved Bo Bo,” “Daisy,
Dear Family Friend,” “Sunshine” and “Annie.” The graves are marked
with flowers and elaborate decorations. A forgotten Santa Claus statue
still stands.at.thct head; e£xme plot.
Animals of all varieties use Rolling Acres as their final resting place,
including chinchillas, hamsters, calves, horses, monkeys, birds and goats.
“One boy called about a boa constrictor, but I told him to make sure it
was really dead,” Stmot said. “They can go into a state of dormancy that
looks like death* and that’s what it was.”
Some pet owners are so attached to their animals that they choose to
be buried at Rolling Acres alongside their pet. As of last Saturday, Stmot
said, 12 people are buried in Rolling Acres.
For burial needs, Rolling Acres offers a selection of caskets, as well
as several styles of containers for the remains, all for an affordable {nice,
Stmot said.
“We try to keep the expenses down,” she said. “We’re here for people
in their time of grief. For some people, pets are more than just pets.”
‘Fools Rush In’ fills formula for fate, love at first sight
By Chris Thomas
Film Critic
“Dating is stupid,” Alex says to Jeff in sup
port of his hasty actions. And “Fools Rush In”
proves that love at first sight can work.
Alex Whitman (played by Matthew Perry)
is the refined corporate type with a job, a jaded
best friend named Jeff (Jon Tenney) and not
much else. Isabel Fuentes (portrayed by Salma
Hayek) is a fiery Mexican-American with close
family ties, strong faith and a belief in destiny.
“Fools Rush In” is a typical love stay played
in reverse. The time-tested, romantic-comedy
formula has been brought up to speed for the
’90s with this story of two lovers who leap be
fore they lode.
On the surface, it’s a feel-good date movie
with plenty of laughs and tender moments.
However, this film also plays on two deeper,
more serious levels: dealing with unplanned
pregnancy and breaking down walls of family
prejudice.
John Barnett Perry (Matthew’s father in real
life) and Academy Award-nominated actress Jill
Clayburgh were selected to make a lethal com
Film: “Fools Rush In’*
Stars: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon
Tenney, Tomas Milian, Jill Gayburgh
Director. Andy Tennant
Rating: PG-13 (language, adult themes) !
Grade: B
Five Words: Romantic comedy with serious
additives
bination as the Whitmans, Alex’s parents. Their
contrast with Fuentes’ parents (Tomas Milian
and Anne Betancourt) shows the sparks that
can fly when worlds collide.
The focus still remains on the fated lovers
in Alex and Isabel. Perry’s quick wit and manic
gestures are perfectly complemented by Hayek’s
emotional eruptions and reliance on destiny as
a road map to life.
The film embodies what we have all wanted
at one time or another—love at first sight de-.
spite any obstacles.