Am I the only person who finds these roadside shrines a little over the top? I am fascinated by them, and yet I find them incredibly annoying. I can certainly empathize with the bereaved, but I feel this type of display is disrespectful to the dearly departed.
I'd really like to know what other folks think of this.
This is right up there with annual memorial dedications in the newspaper...year after year! It's unhealthy for those who are still alive to not let go. The dead have moved on and the living need to move on, too.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about these roadside shrines. The first one I really recall being aware of was for a state trooper killed in the line of duty on rte. 3. I can see the logic behind that one, but for the most part, I think it's wrong to erect a shrine on the side of the road. Certainly, I understand the feelings of loss and helplessness one feels when losing a loved one to an accident, but why is a memorial needed on that spot. Isn't that why we have cemetaries?
ReplyDeleteI hope not to offend anyone, but that's how I feel about HUGE memorial tattoos. Maybe I'm just old fashioned or something, but I feel like there's a more appropriate way to keep them with you always...like a hair bracelet! Kidding. But I agree with CC, maybe it's just not our family tradition, but if I was reading the newspaper from above (or below!) I would be pissed if my remembrance was a yearly writing in rhyme about how wonderful I was.
ReplyDeleteHere's my thought...isn't putting up a memorial on the side of the road kind of asking for ANOTHER accident to happen on that very spot? I mean, look at what happens when an accident occurs, and people are rubbernecking and not paying attention. If you give absent-minded (or just plain bad) drivers something to read/look at on the side of the road, isn't it all the more distracting?
ReplyDeleteAnd I too, agree w/ CC. The grieving process is healthy, but the living DO need to move on and let go. It's taken me a long time, and many losses to finally come to this realization.
I always thought that roadside memorials were in poor taste. The more elaborate memorial, the more that it seems to irritate me. On the other hand, I always thought that roadside memorials presented the perfect business opportunity. Once, on a road trip from Phoenix to Las Vegas, I literally saw hundreds of little white crosses along the roadside during the 5-6 hour ride. My extremely bored wife kept track of them in a little notepad. I always thought that this could be a terrific niche business. Roadside cross memorial fabrication, installation and maintenance. Does anyone offer this uniques service?
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