Handmade roadside shrines are all too common on lonely country roads. It's hard to understand how so many can lose their lives on such untraveled pathways.
This display seemed particularly sad in it's desolation at the edge of a beautiful field of alfalfa. The crosses are maintained for awhile, flowers left at the site. But years pass, and the crosses are degraded by wind and weather.
My daughters friend Cody was killed 7 years ago on Thanksgiving eve. The tree he struck has returned to it's natural state, the markers are gone. The spot is marked in our memories and when we drive down the road the memories return.
4 comments:
There seems to be these makeshift shrines all over the country. I can think of three within a few miles and a few hundred feet from where we live here in Penna.
When a group of girls were killed back in January '99 near my hometown, one of the mom's planted flowering bushes where the car had hit a tree. There are 5 angels on sticks there too for each girl(all in the same class). What a sad rememberance every time I visit my mom.
there was an attempt in Missouri in recent years to make these roadside shrines illegal. In part, I can understand it. They are distractions along the very stretch of road that has proven all too fatal already. I don't think the law passed since I still see these memorials all over the place. It's a terrible shame, but it seems that every high school class has to have a tragedy like this to teach the youngsters mortality.
Pablo
roundrockjournal.com
(Blogger still hates me.)
A lovely happy student of mine was killed while jogging before school one morning. She was a month away from graduation, had joined the army, and was just getting in shape for basic.
She made a mistake, stepped back onto the road suddenly as a man on his way to work crested a hill. The whole community mourned her, we loved her so.
The kids of course mounted a roadside memorial to her. It was on a road that the driver had to drive to work every day. I always wished they had not done this, the driver was not at fault, but he could not avoid this reminder as he had to pass it to get home each day.
I'm sorry to hear about your student. Many accidents are so tragic and not due to maliciousness.
This particular shrine is for Sara Fitzpatrick who was killed at this spot at 17 years of age. Beyond that, and what sentiments were handwritten on the crosses, I know nothing of the circumstances. This is a distance from my home and outside our small community.
I'm going to post a photo of as very dangerous situation on our backroads - literally a tragedy watiting to happen. Sigh.
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