A broken tradition

I love a good real-life mystery and I'm just enough of a sentimentalist to love tradition, which is why it's sad the tradition may have ended of roses and a bottle of cognac being left on the grave of Edgar Allan Poe on his birthday.

The mysterious visitor has left the tributes to the writer since at least 1949 without ever before missing a birthday until Tuesday, which was the 201st anniversary of Poe's birth.

The unknown fan previously always quietly and quickly appeared at the Baltimore gravesite between midnight and 5:30 a.m., many times being watched by groups of people waiting to see the silent tribute.

Is the tradition over? Will the mystery of who was the visitor be left a mystery? Has something happened to the visitor before he/she could pass the tradition on to someone else? Has there been more than one visitor over the decades? Such are the questions that never may be answered.

A good mystery and a broken tradition ...