Definately Educational, but not acceptable.

On Sunday The Happy Medic posted this short blurb about traffic fatality Memorials and questioned if it was acceptable to post a sign which read "A drunk driver killed themselves here".
 I see these memorials all the time and I don't really care for them, especially those at jobs I had worked. It brings back the video of the incident every time I pass one and I really do not wish to re-live that experience at that particular moment, thank you very much.

There is one of these not far from my home which I have to pass everyday several times. Each year it falls into decay as the year goes by, the snow comes and goes, the snow plows do their damage, and the weeds grow up over it. Every year I think the family will let it go and forget about it. I would really prefer that they do, honestly. But then on the anniversary of the event, everything gets freshened up, new flowers, more candles, and I don't know what else. At that point I know I have another year to look at all this stuff.

My problem with this one is that it reminds me of a particularly nasty incident, and also that there is no way for me to avoid it if I want to get home. It happened many years ago but is still vivid in my head. The bike's computer chip recorded 120 MPH as it's last recorded speed, there was no alcohol involved. He was out riding for fun with a friend, who was smart enough to slow down as they entered the turn. If I were going to post a sign like  HM, this one would have to read: """On this spot, a motorcyclist committed suicide and left a 24 year old wife and a 2 year old daughter to fend for themselves."

Some days I come around that bend and the Memorial catches me off guard and before I can catch myself, I get a flash photo of that night. When this happens I get angry and think about ways to make this thing go away. But then I recover and realize that on some level, this family is finding peace with the trinkets that reside on that rock wall. They need to have it there, much more than I need to have it gone.


Tolerance: Just another service we provide.
Still, there are those days........

UU