And we'll grow kindness in our hearts for all the strangers among us til there are no strangers anymore

So, I've made mention of my school. For any Lost fans, comparing it to The Dharma Initiative would not be inappropriate. It's the site of a former state school (read: rehabilitation/psychiatric/assisted living/orphanage facility) and consists of about 68 buildings. Our school occupies three of them, and about 5 more are occupied by other organizations. The other 60 are empty and include a hospital, a fire station, dormitories, office buildings, a paint shop, etc., etc. The state school was a completely self-sufficient community and had all the buildings/resources that such a place would need. During the Reagan administration, the school was shut down and it seems that people just walked out into the street leaving everything behind. The maintenance man/artist/ghost, Edward, took me on a tour of the hospital and showed me towels, clothing, etc., that was left behind. Hollywood loved the creepiness factor of the property and filmed parts of The Life of David Gale and The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in some of the abandoned buildings. Of course, when working in buildings that used to house very troubled individuals (many of whom are buried in the property's cemetery), people will say they've heard things, seen things, etc. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural, the fact that our school is on a hill overlooking a prison and that people have reported seeing wild boar on the property means that I don't like being the last one leaving at night.
This has a sign that says, "Maintenance Shop." You can see another abandoned building in the background.
I think the fact that no one bothered to change anything about the property (except for our school and a few other buildings) makes it really creepy to me. It's like people just walked away.

At any rate, the property made for a very beautiful and moving experience on Friday when we celebrated Dia de los Muertos. The students (about 300 of them) walked in complete silence from the school to the cemetery. On the way to the cemetery field, I saw Edward, in a sombrero, (see maintenance guy/artist/ghost above) sitting behind one of the old buildings, watching the line of kids. He was responsible for a lot of the "art" at our celebration and even though he didn't participate, it was cool to watch him watching us as we looked at his art (pictures following). The school's music teacher played a single drum beat as the students walked through the doorway, across the field, and settled in their spots. Most of the kids dressed as skeletons or in traditional Mexican clothing. After everyone was settled, the kids sang two songs and danced. Some of the teachers accompanied them:
Afterwards, we walked back to the school. (You can see the line of kids in the picture above). Overall, it was incredibly moving and beautiful. Having children singing and dancing in the shadow of a children's cemetery seemed very appropriate. Plus, Edward made these amazing shrines which were all over the field. It's amazing how well-staged found objects can carry so much meaning when staged in the right way and viewed with reverence (hey, wait, didn't I write my thesis about that?). Scissors aren't just scissors, they're scissors. And with 60 abandoned buildings at his disposal, he found a lot of objects to inject with meaning.Pictures to make my point:

The "shrine" at the doorway to the celebration. Edward painted this family portrait of skeletons and found a birdbath and the grill for a truck, and voila.
They aren't just phones, they're phones.

These paintings were in cell-like structures:

Even skeletons can rock out, albeit morosely. I think she's emo.
The doorway as you left the celebration. A chalkboard, some pieces of metal, some scissors, some dying plants:
Don't ask me where he found this, or what it is. Some people guessed a giant carrot? I'm not sure, but when I saw it framed by some branches, lying in the field, I thought it must be very important.
And this, a door, with some branches, and a tissue paper flower:
The main shrine, with the cemetery behind it:

And my personal favorite:
Yep, those are sinks taken from the buildings, and a bird cage with some paper flowers. They left up most of the stuff so we can see it when we take hikes.
And, just when you thought zombies weren't cat people, don't you worry about a thing: