Dear Abby: May I add one more fact about the custom of placing stones on graves? It is not uniquely Jewish. From time immemorial, it has been done in Ireland, mainly on the graves of heroes or other important individuals. Some of these "cairns," as they are known, have become massive. Probably the best known — and possibly the largest — is Shane O'Neill's cairn on the Antrim coast. Shane was one of the most flamboyant of the old Irish chieftains and is credited with having invalidated the claim of England's Elizabeth I to have been "the Virgin Queen."
Interesting? — Joseph McEvoy, San Clemente, Calif.
Dear Joseph: Very — as a reminder that what some royals have done in the past is no different than what they're doing today. And people say that history is a "dry" subject. Ha! (If history is dull, perhaps we need some new writers.)
Dear Abby is written by Pauline Phillips and daughter Jeanne Phillips, © Universal Press Syndicate