If you could speak from the grave, what would you say? What would be your epitaph? Or what if the place you were buried turned out to be something other than a cemetery? And you don't have to be rich and famous to leave a lasting testament of your life.

Not unlike the clothing they choose to wear, their status in life, the way they live, or the hobbies they engage in during a lifetime, some people express their "life view" in the form of their epitaph or tombstone.

So take a minute to get your favorite drink, then sit back and take a tour with me of some of the most unusual grave markers in the country.

If you lived during the 1930s and '40s, chances are you're familiar with commercials for Buster Brown Shoes. The boy known as Buster Brown was named William Edmond Ansley, and his tombstone is a large gray granite stone shaped like a shoe, emblazoned with his famous image and that of his dog Tige. Buster rests peacefully in Gainesville, Texas.

Our next stop is New Jersey, where we find the grave of Sal Giardino, a master electrician. Not surprisingly, Giardino's tombstone is shaped like a large black granite lightbulb, complete with a gray concrete base depicting the threads. Across the bulb are the words "World's Greatest Electrician." You'll find Giardino's grave in Totowa, N.J.

Do you refer to those resting in peace as "passed away," "departed," or "dead"? Born in 1920, Archie Arnold was a known prankster. In preparation for his death in 1982, he pulled his final practical joke by having parking meters installed on each side of his tombstone, each reading "Expired."

Margaret J. Duncan, who died in 1901, is buried in Fletcher, Ohio. One can surmise from her grave marker that she spent much of her life relaxing or that she was very impressed with her furniture, because her tombstone is a life-size concrete easy chair, complete with fringe on the bottom.

Then there's William H. Hahn II, of Princeton, N.J, who died in 1980 and wanted the world to know that he tried to warn his loved ones that something was wrong with his health. It is said that, knowing he was in failing health, he ordered the inscription shortly before his demise. It reads, "I Told You I Was Sick!"

People driving down E400S Highway in Franklin, Ind., have a surprise waiting for them. Right in the middle of the road are the remains of Nancy Kerlin Barnett, who died in 1831. It seems the county relocated the cemetery to build the road, but somehow forgot about poor Nancy.

One of the more elaborate markers you'll see is in Hiawatha, Kan., about 100 miles from Johnson County. The gravesite is so elaborate that one photo doesn't do it justice. This is the grave of John and Sarah Davis, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well it should be. It stands as one of the more ostentatious I've found. The grave has been featured in Newsweek and People magazines and on "Ripley's Believe It or Not" television program.

What started as a simple grave for Davis's wife turned into a monument of epic proportions when he continued to add statues of himself and Sarah in various stages of their lives, along with pillars, angels, chairs, benches, and a huge canopy.

Most Johnson County residents may not know that a famous horse is buried right in their midst. Bred and born in Kansas, Lawrin won the 1938 Kentucky Derby and was jockey Eddie Arcaro's first derby mount. Lawrin lived to be 20 and is buried in the cul-de-sac at 59 Le Mans Court in Prairie Village, behind the public library.

But by far the strangest grave my research found was that of Mary Ellis, who left the world in 1827 and is buried in New Brunswick, N.J. Ellis originally was buried in the woods on her farm, but by the 1960s the woods had been cleared and the surrounding land was leveled and scraped lower to build a parking lot. Eventually a movie theater took over the property—and Mary's grave remained intact the entire time. Today the grave is in the parking lot of a Loew's movie theater!

As you've seen, grave markers run the gamut from the whimsical to the elaborate to the curious, the ostentatious, and just about everything in between. I think mine will be simple: "Hey, Thanks for Stopping By"!