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  • This was a very beautiful video, but I couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if that family saw a nerdy guy intently fklming their young daughter? Disaster waiting to happen.

  • I'm keeping that phrse, "Nothing is etched in stone until it is."

  • This video is the very reason my first date was spent by a very beautiful pond in a small town cemetery that happened to be quite large. It was very beautiful, in Spring bloom. Never would have known its inexplicable beauty if it weren't for the vlogbrothers. Or have kissed a guy fifty feet away from dead people. Oh, how you touch our lives.

  • Minnie Hooker is also a very shamefull name xD

  • Oh my gosh, John bought Henry an encouragement.

  • My grandparents were married for 71 years. Their marriage only ended in November of 2011, when my grandma died from old age, broken bones, failing organs, and pneumonia. She used to be a dancer.

    Rest in peace, Carmen.

  • Hey! This was today. But last year!

  • Thoughts from places videos are my favorite on the internet. It's been said. I regret nothing.

  • I shall forever quote you on those words, John Green. "Nothing is etched in stone, well, until it is."

  • Oh... Mona L Couch at 1:07 died on September, 12th 2001. That is a sad day to die, both for her and her family, even as far as deaths go.

  • THERE IS A MAN IN MY LOCAL CEMETERY JUST LIKE GUSSIE AUDREY. My family and I decided that he's just still alive and super super old.

  • Did any on notice the camera get blurry when he entered the semitary

  • This is like Ira Glass on speed. Compressed genius. Cemeteries rock!

  • Wow, I really liked that video, it made me think of my small town, and the uncertain future that it faces, but in a weird sense it also gave me hope.

  • oh my god as soon as you said zombie apocalypse an add popped up FOR...ZOBMBIFY YOURSELF.COM.

  • I love this. "BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER." Wise words. :)

  • I love small towns; I live in one, and it is truly a fascinating place. I love what you said about the little girl in Knightstown, because that is simply a universal experience for people who grow up in small towns. I think I'll choose to venture off, but I still really appreciate small towns, and just the history, present, and future that they maintain. And cemeteries are some of the most inspiring and fascinating places. Thanks for the video, John.

  • Every now and again I come back to this video. It was not my first vlogbrothers, and it certainly was not my last, but it's one of my favorites. I get chills every time in the last 10 seconds. Be kind to one another, because that's all we really have.

  • I loved it. That was awesome. Job well done!

  • Saw the video of Gussie being solved before this one.

  • @USIQuidditch Hoosiers takes place in Hickory, was filmed in New Richmond and the real life team was Milan. (I think I didn't look it up, working from memory)

  • What I want to know is, where was Henry? Was Willie looking after him?

  • In these kind of videos it becomes clear to me why you are a writer.

  • i beg all fellow nerdfighters to check out my videos. DFTBA

  • "Nothing is etched in stone. Well, until it is."

    YES. 

  • Haha, Minnie Hooker. I can't help but laugh at that.

  • haha, minnie hooker...best...night...EVAR!

  • Wow. That 'haunted' house looks so interesting, I just want to explore it!

  • mona L.........did anyone think...Mona Lisa o.o

  • Only John Green could see the good in a cemetery.

  • "Makes you wonder if corn monoculture might one day lead to the zombie apocalyse"

    AND THUS ZOMBIECORNS IS BORN!

  • omgosh and born the year he died just realized that!

  • hey i have the same birthday valva did!

  • The end of this video was beautiful.

  • My best friend's last name is Couch!!!

  • ZOMBICORNS REFERENCE 

  • Kind is Icelandic for sheep :)

  • This was my first Vlogbrother video! I'm so happy to be a nerdfighter

  • This is still my favorite....

  • Rural decline ... so vicious and spiralling ...

  • "Nothing is etched in stone until it is." That has to be the most poetic thing to come from youtube.

  • Love this video

  • Thoughts from Places, especially John's, are some of the best videos on the internet.

  • I embroidered henry's gift onto my backpack

  • i want that hose

  • Can someone PLEASE explain to me why the grave at 1:15 is weird... it seems to make perfect sense to me....

  • @oh9ah6 It isn't that the grave doesn't make sense, its that it doesn't necessary tell the story of the two people who names are upon it. When Mr. Manlove died, the tomb was placed their in his and his wife's name, but we don't know whither his 28 year old widow went onto better things than just grieving. When she was 28 and had to buy that stone she signed up for an eternity next to a man who died possibly decades before her. She could have moved on from him and she may not be under there.

  • @oh9ah6 first, i think he was joking, cause he was talking about valva and mona/possible same sex marriage, and walter's last name was "manlove." Though it's also that the date of death under her name is incomplete, so you don't know how long she continued to live after the death of her husband.

  • I thought I was the only person who thought cemeteries were interesting enough to just walk around in.

  • This reminds me of An Abundance of Katherines. Lindsey's whole thing about not wanting to leave Gutshot at first.

    I don't know. x]

  • This is my favorite video ever, not just from vlogbrothers, but just on youtube in general

  • That mansion/haunted house looked AWESOME.

    And that town was nifty-looking.

    Then again, I live next to two horse farms and a wheat field v.v

  • I go to school at Knightstown High School. Yeah, I always thought that house was haunted too.

  • Valva Couch... hehehe

  • this was the first video of the vlogbrothers I ever watched :D. I remember it was so weird for me to hear a guy talking with someone who wasn't even there :)) But I liked the kind of poetic way in which he talked, and that made me subscribe :) "nothing is etched it stone. well..until it is". epic

  • I could literally listen to John talk all day. Especially in his thoughts from places videos. This one gave me chills.

  • I can shed some light on the Couch grave - that was my aunt and uncle. Valva was his legal name but he NEVER went by that. In fact at the funeral most of the family had no idea that was his name, and in fact a couple of his brothers disputed that was even the case. But in any event, no it was not a same sex marriage and I have feeling that if he knew that was in question he would have some words for John Green.

  • By the way, her name was not pronounced MOAN-AH, it was pronounced MON-AH. No moan in that name.

  • @tpaairman You make me love nerdfighteria.

  • One word: ZOMBICORNS

  • ONE of my favorite videos on youtube ever!!!

  • GUSSIE MANLOVE!!!!

  • So, I'm not the only one who hangs out in cemeteries for inspiration? Yay!

  • Mona is a woman's name, so I'm guessing Valva was the man.

  • I love this video. It is definitely one of my favourite of your videos. So many great quotes, loads of stuff to think about and overall so much awesome.

  • This is one of my favourite videos. I always smile no matter how many times I watch it.

  • :) awesome....so awesome

  • kind means sheep in Icelandic btw. :D

  • I think this is my favorite Thoughts from a A Place.

  • does anyone else get crazy chills when john says the last line of this video?

  • @defense360 yes...

    

  • The discovery of the history of Gussie Manlove is one of the very best things nerdfighters have ever done.

    Obviously we've done much better things (I flatter myself to include me as part of them), but there is a deep resonance behind rediscovering a lost part of history.

    A person's history is akin to a novel, it is not the writer to whom the book belongs, it is the reader. So, even if Gussie would have been embarassed at this interest, it is really the right of the curious to know these things.

  • i imagine you had no idea what you were getting us into when you talked about gussie manlove... :P

  • or maybe gussie is immortal...like the highlander.

  • ...does your wife appreciate being called "the yeti"? (p.s. does the punctuation go inside the quotation marks even though its not an actual quote?)

  • ...does your wife appreciate being called "the yeti"? (p.s. does the punctuation go inside the quotation marks even though its not an actual quote?

  • haunting and pleasant at the same time, thanks, John

  • This made me think of home...

  • "Nothing is etched in stone, until it is." Excellent closing statement. I wish more people would realize that they can't predict life.

  • This video inspired my finale project for my first year of Art school. Thank you.

  • This video still gives me goosebumps

  • yay swedish

    

  • great vid

  • i honestly love your thoughts from places videos. they almost make me want to cry.

  • This is going to sound strange, but I've been meaning to spend more time in cemeteries.

    That picture you bought for Henry is PERFECT!!

  • John's narrative is the odd contradiction of perturbing inquiry and soothing sentiments  Thank you, John, for complexly questioning the simple things, and for making me question them with you. Even if I don't come up with any answers, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one thinking about them.

  • @vlogbrothers no haha sorry!

  • i live in indiana. and i live in the town of the other frosty boy, if you know where that is.

  • can I use this as a sermon illustration? because as always you make some fantastic points.

  • Valva is, unfortunately, the man.

    I learned that form the obituaries of Knightstown's online newspaper, edition 2001.

  • @KINDspotting Good work nerdfighter!

  • @Epocseer hehe

  • amazing

  • I love small towns surrounded by corn. I go visit one every once in a while cuz thats where my moms from. xD

  • i think mona is the woman =D

  • I love cemetaries too!! :D i love just walking around and reading dates and stuff. makes me feel calmer <3

  • what about corn and zombies?

  • AW! I LOVE THOUGHTS FROM PLACES!!

    you just made my day have less suck than it did :)

  • I think theres something to be said for a simple life in a small town. You'll run into a lot of nice people and the Main street always has a cool look to it and some character.

  • Did anyone notice Mona Couch died on 9/12/01?

  • this made my day.

  • lol i think its so cool cuz john lives in indi and so do i so sometimes i always think im just gonna see him somewhate and flip out!!!!!!

    ROCK ON U GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!

    DFTBA

  • I've watched this 3 times now in the space of around a month. It's just so poignant that I need to keep hearing it.

  • That was funny and poignant all at the same time.

  • I know you probably wont get this... but whatre your favorite movie? Mine are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,Synecdoche NY,Elizabethtown,Almost Famous,Into The Wild(Written and Directed by Sean Penn),and a lot more.

    If you have time.. let me know what your favorites are.Or maybe make a vlog about it?

  • Best wishes from a small town in Michigan!

  • I like your mind. It's deep.

  • i love how the whole thing ends at a STOP sign. \m/ Thoughts From Places is \m/

  • Do not ask Nerdfightaria a question that you don't expect to be answered.

  • @chikentori I don't recall implying that she uses the internet; I was just making the point that sometimes people have their headstones set up ahead of time and, for one reason or another, the number doesn't get finished. A 113 year old lady on the internet would be entertaining though!

    Funny -- I went back to check what I posted originally and it was deleted at one point or another. Oops.

  • Mona L. ? Mona....Lisa?

  • wow. I never comment, but this gets my standing ovation. Great narrative, John. Very thought provoking. Love the ending statement. Love it all. Bravo!

  • That pretty much describes South Dakota and Iowa too, with the never ending cornfields.

  • "I don't believe in ghosts, but that mansion is definitely haunted" mansions.

    XD XD XD

  • good job on ya video =)

  • Wow! What a great story and video. One for the vlogbrother's hall of fame.

  • I almost cried

  • I used to live in a small town. :/ This video was amazing.

  • I'm from a tiny Indiana town, everything you say in this is so true. Even down to the cornfields. It seems like every roadtrip I take, we know when we're out of Indiana because suddenly there's no more cornfields and we haven't seen a hog truck in miles.

  • John your thoughts video's are always wonderful, and always get me think please don't ever change.

  • much love from China!

  • John must have looked so creepy filming that kid!

  • "Nothing is etched in stone. Well... until it is."

    I love that.

  • "And then the Yeti and I drove east, past the endless corn fields that could make one wonder whether corn monoculture might one day lead to a zombie apocalypse."

    I see what you did there. And where you went from there.

  • i traveled back many videos to find out about this walter manlove guy

  • We <3 you Gussy ;P

  • your thoughts in this video are really so writer-ish...i felt like i was reading a prologue to a book.

  • This is my favorite thoughts from places you've ever done. ♥

  • thats really cool.. never thought of cemeteries that way before.

  • What John Green did today:

    Bought a tree

    Wondered what's the deal with Walter's wife

    Stalked a little girl

    This. Was a good day.

  • Kurt Vonnegut said, "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

  • How come the birth year of Manlove's wife in this video doesn't match up with the other video?

    It's 1887 in here while it's 1883 in the other video...

  • @Ironor8 you said what i was going to say , i think they just got it wrong , i thought it weird that she changed her name so much so they must of accidently got our gussie mixed with another gussie born 4 years before her

  • I live in Knightstown. I am very happy that you decided to come to our little town. I know you say in the video that the "mansion" is creepy, but there is a creepier house in my town. It is the Pest House. Maybe if you come back to my town you can look into the creepier things that our down has to offer. Also, in the cemetery, I am not sure if you saw it but in the cemetery there is one man who died from falling into a horse trough. Just thought I would share some information with you.

  • I honestly preferred not knowing. Left things to the imagination, kept things open. Granted, it was a complex story involving this woman and her 3 husbands or so, but it still felt like there was a whole realm of possibilities beforehand.

  • That was profound

  • If you made a Thoughts from Places in Copenhagen it would make me happy. Or at least excited.

  • "Nothing is etched in stone... well, until it is." AH! That gave me chills. I do have a soft spot for graveyards.

  • @GryffindorSeeker88 I'm glad I'm not the only one who shivered after that. I'm not even exactly sure why either.

  • Luther Valva Couch was the boy. Luther was his father's name which I guess why he went by Valva. I also think that it is interesting that Mona died the day after 9/11.

  • hes touching himself in the reflection @ 1:21

  • things that make u go....Hmmm?

  • "Lighting out for the territories" Loving the Huckleberry Finn reference. 

  • I wish I had been more helpful in the search for Manlove... in your pants. :(

    Oh well, there's always the next unusual gravestone! ;)

  • I just googled Gussie Audry and Walter Manlove in Your Pants

  • Ok so I watched and favourited this video last week because I love it, but now that I am watching it again...why did John say 'what's the deal with Walter Manlove's wife?' did he say that because she was supposed to be buried with her husband but the date has never been added so it must be assumed she was buried elsewhere?

  • @PrettyFascinated she also may have not died yet...?

  • @AngelBear1386 possible I suppose but that would make her 124 years old!

  • @PrettyFascinated Anything is possible? haha, i have no clue.

  • Manlove's wife was not a woman, I'm telling u

  • @theZhNINJA

    No..she was.

  • dude, john, man.... wow.

    i really love these :)

    your story-telling is just plain awesome, mind-blowing even

  • my first name is hannah and my middle name is jane

  • who is shaytards?

  • why are you calling your wife "yeti"? :S

  • @Klonelch he's called her the yeti since they began filming vlogs. He calls her that because, like the Yeti, she's extremely elusive rarely (if ever?) appearing in the videos. :)

  • @raychella08 okay, thanks a lot... now it makes sense... kinda :D

  • This video was really interesting and intriguing and i also grew up in a very small town. So thank you for further sharing your thoughts with us :)

  • Helena F. Littell didn't have a year of death either. Why is her narrative any less important than Gussie Audrey

  • @K8LEN Well, of course her story isn't less IMPORTANT. But it's far more straightforward. Helena Littell is only 78; chances are she doesn't have a year of death simply because she's still alive. Gussie Manlove is not 124, so the question becomes: what happened? How did her life change in ways that she didn't expect or plan for when she chose to have her name etched on that tombstone at 28? It's a reminder that none of us knows what lies ahead.

  • Not only is the grave for "Couch" the exact same headstone that my grandparents have, but Mona has my same birthday, AND they had the same anniversary as my parents. I find that very very strange.

  • Valva Couch died the day I was born. I feel cool.

  • I don't normally comment, and this is the first vlog of yours I've ever seen... but this was really, really good. I was raised in a small town and I feel very guilty, nostalgic and defensive when I left it for "the big city".

  • This video made me cry.

  • If you're not familiar with the song "This Old Town" by Nanci Griffith, look it up/listen to it. It's a great song about a small, nameless Great Plains town.

  • I love 'Thoughts from Places'

  • "What's the deal with Walter Manlove's wife?"

    It's amazing how one question can start such a huge search.