I knew I had been researching Colma cemeteries way too long when I typed in “Colma” on Google maps and immediately thought:
“My God, it’s shaped like an angel.”
Was this not the greatest coincidence in border delineation history since those who love boots or mittens got their first glimpse of Italy or Michigan?
“I’m not [seeing] anything special on my end,” said Colma-area native Christian Cagigal when I messaged him the map. And he’s a professional magician, so he doesn’t lack for imagination. Others were similarly perplexed.
But former Colma resident H.P. Mendoza, a film director who wrote the music and screenplay for “Colma: The Musical,” immediately saw it. Except, “I thought it was a demon,” he said.
I tried it on Katherine Murphy, one of the KQED listeners who wrote in asking a question about local cemetery history.
“What does that look like to you?” I asked her.
“Like a snow angel,” she said immediately.
“Bingo! I knew it!”
I thought about making this discovery the entire focus of the piece, but for some reason KQED editors, possibly in league with powerful municipal forces in Colma, didn’t think that was such a good idea.
Still, this conspiracy of silence is now at an end.