In America, you might get a warning notice if you're late paying a bill, or if a subscription renewal is due. In some parts of Europe, you might say you get a "grave warning" when your plot "rental" is coming due. You see, here most definitely unlike the U.S., you usually don't buy a cemetery plot for eternity. In Germany for example, the hereafter lasts about 80 year. After that, unless some family member is still around (and still cares) to pay the cemetery plot fees, they simply "dispose" of the bones (I sure don't want any details: I think this is definitely a don't-ask-don't-tell situation) and throw the headstone in the trash! Your plot is then reused by the next poor stiff. Sorry; it was there and I had to use it...
The green slip on this headstone in a beautiful little cemetery in Bonn is just such a notice: contact us now, or else...well, you know. Actually, it says that your "right of usage has or soon will expire." There is no "please," "we're sorry," or "greetings." Germans do like to get right to the point.
We might find this ghoulish, but for many Europeans this is simply a wise use of precious land. You might say it's taking recycling to the next level.
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