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Roadside Memorials

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  • Roadside Memorials

    Is it just me, or does anyone else find these disturbing? I don't recall ever seeing them when I lived in California. But out here in Missouri, apparently, people will erect a cross with a person's name on it, make a sort of shrine on the side of a road, where a loved one died in a car accident.

    Personally, I don't want to remember when/where a person died prematurely. If I was going to build a shrine at all (which is unlikely) it would be at some place they loved.

    Anyone else?

  • #2
    Where my Dad lived in Ohio, they seemed to be fairly common.

    There was a little girl who was raped and murdered in the woods a couple blocks from my Dad's house, and we would always drive by there when we visited him about once or twice a year.

    There was a constantly growing memorial - flowers, teddy bears, toys, crosses...... it seems like it's mostly a Catholic/Hispanic thing, as I've seen similar things in Texas.

    This one was actually life-sized (you can imagine a grown man being buried there) and is solar lighted.

    cross.jpg
    Attached Files
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
      Where my Dad lived in Ohio, they seemed to be fairly common.

      There was a little girl who was raped and murdered in the woods a couple blocks from my Dad's house, and we would always drive by there when we visited him about once or twice a year.

      There was a constantly growing memorial - flowers, teddy bears, toys, crosses...... it seems like it's mostly a Catholic/Hispanic thing, as I've seen similar things in Texas.

      This one was actually life-sized (you can imagine a grown man being buried there) and is solar lighted.

      cross.jpg


      Interesting - I hesitated to identify these as "Catholic", but subsequently found...

      Once mostly found in those countries where Catholicism is the predominant faith, roadside memorials are now common in North, South and Central America; Canada; Europe (including the UK); and Australia, where it’s estimated that approximately 20 percent of all road deaths are marked by a roadside memorial. In Latin America, where this custom has its roots, a roadside memorial is often referred to as a descanso (resting place). Once mostly found in those countries where Catholicism is the predominant faith, roadside memorials are now common in North, South and Central America; Canada; Europe (including the UK); and Australia, where it’s estimated that approximately 20 percent of all road deaths are marked by a roadside memorial. In Latin America, where this custom has its roots, a roadside memorial is often referred to as a descanso (resting place).
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
        Where my Dad lived in Ohio, they seemed to be fairly common.

        There was a little girl who was raped and murdered in the woods a couple blocks from my Dad's house, and we would always drive by there when we visited him about once or twice a year.

        There was a constantly growing memorial - flowers, teddy bears, toys, crosses...... it seems like it's mostly a Catholic/Hispanic thing, as I've seen similar things in Texas.

        This one was actually life-sized (you can imagine a grown man being buried there) and is solar lighted.
        I recall hearing criticism of the Catholic tradition of depicting Christ on the cross, as though it highlights his death and not his triumph over it. Perhaps there is a connection. I would find the memorial for this little girl to be incredibly sad - if not morbid - to emphasize such a place. Now, I can understand building a memorial at, say, Auschwitz because it helps to erase a horrible landmark. But these individual memorials only highlight them.

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm in two minds about them.

          One here some years agone was put in place by friends of a driver who turned right** at an intersection at an officially estimated 140 km/h (88mph). Hit a stobie pole, ripped the car in two. When I checked him for injuries, the right side of his head looked OK until I touched it - nope. no hope of resuscitation - not when the side of the skull is essentially powdered. Never understood why so many people considered him an innocent victim. Never understood why such a large group of mourners should gather daily for more than a month.

          (** that would be the equivalent of a left turn in America)

          Others that I have known of though - yes. I think perhaps it is sometimes a matter of trying to make sense of senseless circumstances, of trying to come to terms with the horror of sudden and irrevocable loss.

          Some places are officially set up as memorials, in part as a warning.
          1Cor 15:34 Come to your senses as you ought and stop sinning; for I say to your shame, there are some who know not God.
          .
          ⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛
          Scripture before Tradition:
          but that won't prevent others from
          taking it upon themselves to deprive you
          of the right to call yourself Christian.

          ⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Ronson View Post
            I recall hearing criticism of the Catholic tradition of depicting Christ on the cross, as though it highlights his death and not his triumph over it.
            My Mom was always bothered by the Crucifix in every hospital room of her local Catholic Hospital. She'd ask me, "do you have your pocket knife, can you get Jesus down from that cross"?
            She was kidding. Kinda.

            And, yeah, her point was "He's no longer there".

            Perhaps there is a connection. I would find the memorial for this little girl to be incredibly sad - if not morbid - to emphasize such a place. Now, I can understand building a memorial at, say, Auschwitz because it helps to erase a horrible landmark. But these individual memorials only highlight them.
            Yeah, we'd drive by that little girl's memorial out of curiosity, but I always thought it was a bit creepy. There's a TV commercial (maybe Liberty Mutual Insurance) where this hot dog vender in NYC is selling "wet teddy bears". It kinda creeps me out, because when it would rain, all those teddy bears at the roadside memorial would look drenched and depressing.

            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Ronson View Post
              Is it just me, or does anyone else find these disturbing? I don't recall ever seeing them when I lived in California. But out here in Missouri, apparently, people will erect a cross with a person's name on it, make a sort of shrine on the side of a road, where a loved one died in a car accident.

              Personally, I don't want to remember when/where a person died prematurely. If I was going to build a shrine at all (which is unlikely) it would be at some place they loved.

              Anyone else?
              They're common around here as well. The only time I knew someone who's family set up a small temporary roadside memorial/marker was because they hoped it would serve as a reminder for others who saw it to drive safely so fewer other families will be grieving over losing a (or several) loved ones.

              I'm always still in trouble again

              "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
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              "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                They're common around here as well. The only time I knew someone who's family set up a small temporary roadside memorial/marker was because they hoped it would serve as a reminder for others who saw it to drive safely so fewer other families will be grieving over losing a (or several) loved ones.
                Texas recently updated their online guidance for roadside memorials. For reasons I don't understand, that website right now is unreachable .... http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdot...al_markers.htm

                But, if I recall, it makes things really simple --- a simple white cross or something, and limits all the balloons and toys and other stuff, and requires the memorial to be "so many feet" off the roadway.
                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I think it is just a way for people to try to keep their loved ones memories alive. When I see one of them, I might not know who they are, but I am reminded that someone who was loved died there. Yes, it's sad, but poignant at the same time. It also serves to remind me to pay attention to the road because I can see that someone died at that location.


                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Ronson View Post
                    Is it just me, or does anyone else find these disturbing? I don't recall ever seeing them when I lived in California. But out here in Missouri, apparently, people will erect a cross with a person's name on it, make a sort of shrine on the side of a road, where a loved one died in a car accident.

                    Personally, I don't want to remember when/where a person died prematurely. If I was going to build a shrine at all (which is unlikely) it would be at some place they loved.

                    Anyone else?
                    They’re all over the place here. I’ve almost stopped noticing them after a while, until there's a new one.



                    Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                      My Mom was always bothered by the Crucifix in every hospital room of her local Catholic Hospital. She'd ask me, "do you have your pocket knife, can you get Jesus down from that cross"?
                      She was kidding. Kinda.

                      And, yeah, her point was "He's no longer there".
                      I always say when I see a crucifix, but never to a person wearing one, “I’m sorry your god is still dead. Mine is alive!"


                      Yeah, we'd drive by that little girl's memorial out of curiosity, but I always thought it was a bit creepy. There's a TV commercial (maybe Liberty Mutual Insurance) where this hot dog vender in NYC is selling "wet teddy bears". It kinda creeps me out, because when it would rain, all those teddy bears at the roadside memorial would look drenched and depressing.
                      The ones that really bother me are the massive displays put on by people who never knew the deceased, or had anything to do with them. One in particular that comes to mind is when Diana died. I think so much of that is just "going along with everybody else".



                      Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                        Texas recently updated their online guidance for roadside memorials. For reasons I don't understand, that website right now is unreachable .... http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdot...al_markers.htm

                        But, if I recall, it makes things really simple --- a simple white cross or something, and limits all the balloons and toys and other stuff, and requires the memorial to be "so many feet" off the roadway.
                        There are a lot of those white crosses used here, but some variations of them as well.

                        The Big City used to put up small crosses at intersections to remind people that someone died, but there was a complaint that the crosses were "too Christian", so the city has replaced the crosses with this bizarre coffin shaped thing.

                        0EE5DF66-49E8-4C58-BB49-2035512D2AB4.jpeg


                        Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by mossrose View Post

                          There are a lot of those white crosses used here, but some variations of them as well.

                          The Big City used to put up small crosses at intersections to remind people that someone died, but there was a complaint that the crosses were "too Christian", so the city has replaced the crosses with this bizarre coffin shaped thing.

                          0EE5DF66-49E8-4C58-BB49-2035512D2AB4.jpeg
                          Looks like a really fat coffin.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                            Looks like a really fat coffin.
                            Don’t blame me! I don’t live there and had no say in the matter.


                            Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Ah, the site I cited earlier finally came up -- maybe they're having server problems...

                              Memorial Markers for Traffic-Related Fatalities. Organizations and relatives of persons killed in any traffic-related crashes may install commemorative markers (such as crosses) beside the road at the location of the crash. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) allows such markers, provided the district approves the location of the marker. See Chapter 3, Section 10 of the Maintenance Division’s Use of Right of Way by Others Manual for guidelines for these markers. This program is managed by the Maintenance Division (MNT).


                              I wonder how long it will be before somebody here makes a stink about "crosses".
                              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                              Comment

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