Roadside Memorials
Some people say roadside memorials are distracting. They are dangerous. I believe the opposite. I believe that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it. These memorials serve as a solemn reminder of fatal accidents. Lives were ended. Other lives were changed forever.
This first cross is for a teenager. It is along the 7 mile hill loop that
I run out of our house. This young man had a brand new driver’s license and came down the hill too fast for conditions. His car left the roadway. He was ejected into the river. It took days to find his body. We live in a small city. Everyone knows everyone. This boy’s accident saddened the entire city. The second cross was a young man who made a very bad decision and drove drunk. His bad decision ended his life and took a friend with him.
The place where my bike is parked is close to where an unspeakable tragedy took place. There is no me
morial there. In a rural county everyone remembers. A child getting out of religious class was running across the street to where his father was parked. A teenager was driving too fast. The boy was killed right in front of his father. In a panic the teenager kept going. He was caught and spent time in prison. I wrote about 100 letters to him. He wrote back. I visited him on prison. Soon after he was released he was back in prison. I don’t think he ever forgave himself. The parents of the young boy have since divorced.
This large memorial stands on the west side of I43 between Belgium and Cedar Grove Wisconsin at ab
out the 111 mile marker. 10 people died there in a chain reaction fog accident. Another accident in that fog claimed an 11
th life. I’ll always remember that day. It was October 11, 2002. I was coming home. I first started hearing about it south of Milwaukee. The weather there was beautiful. The place where the accident took place is not too far from Lake Michigan. Dense fog can suddenly appear near the lake. NEVER EVER DRIVE FAST IN FOG. IF YOU CAN NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP WITHIN YOUR SIGHT DISTANCE YOU ARE DRIVING TOO FAST!
The first wooden crosses I saw were in New Hampshire. I believe that they were on Highway 101. Randy Travis sang of the crosses in his song “3 Wooden Crosses”. I have seen electronic signs in the Chicago area reminding people of how many fatalities have occurred on Illinois highways. I have seen one in Tennessee. We cannot be reminded too often of what is at stake when we drive.