Roadside Memorials
By Steve Moody
Every day in America one hundred twenty people lose their life in vehicle accidents. After these deaths, many friends and loved ones migrate to the accident site. They often go on their pilgrimage bearing gifts – pictures, flowers, and white crosses.
I completely understand people wanting to remember their loved ones, but choosing a horrific death scene as the site for a memorial shrine seems completely illogical. Furthermore, these shrines are typically not well-thought-out.
Let’s start with the pictures. Pictures don’t do well in inclement weather and 8 x10s are just a bit tough to make out at 65mph.
Then we have the flowers. A live cut flower wilts within hours of being thrown on the side of an overpass. And, even the artificial ones look pretty cheesy in their make-shift setting. I’m guessing they didn’t consult with a florist on the setup.
Then there are the white crosses. Often these religious signposts are makeshift homemade sticks that somebody besides a carpenter crafted. One big Kansas wind gust and the stick figure falls flat. These crosses stuck up and down highway ditches make for a lovely game of dodge ball for the mowing crews. And, heaven forbid if one should get pulverized.
But, maybe I’m not looking at the positive side of this practice. What if we took this practice to the extreme? We could do away with cemeteries. Wherever grandma expires – that’s the place of the shrine. Be it the hospital, grocery store, backyard; shrine – shrine – shrine.
All joking aside – as long as you’re not offending a lost one’s family – do whatever helps you get through your grief. As for the message to my friends – not that I have any – if I should die in an accident, skip the roadside memorial and just make a small donation to the humane society.
Steve Moody is the Emergency Management Director of Stafford County. He is the former Leavenworth Fire Chief and served as Deputy Fire Chief during his 28 years at the Salina Fire Department. Stafford County Emergency Management Blog