January 19, 2008

I parked behind this today when I was out running errands, and to be honest, I've never seen such a thing before. Since taking this photograph, friends have told me they have seen this type of memorial before, but not recently, and they thought it was more prevalent in the Hispanic community.


Driving home I thought about it some more, because just recently I was talking to several people who have left their relative's graves unmarked all with the comment, "I just haven't gotten to it yet." In the case of one, I know her brother has their parents ashes in his desk drawer at work. He inherited the famliy business, and you could argue he's keeping Dad nearby to oversee the craftsmanship going on in his name, but again he tells his sister, "I haven't gotten to it, yet."


We live in a time of not expressing our mourning in excess and "get over it and move on," and I find it interesting, given conversations I've had with others this month, that a culture where "your ride is peemp," and "cars that go boom," and "trick my truck, but don't mess with my heart" that someone took the time to express their loss this way. I wonder if Moms' ashes were in the glove compartment?

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way

~~Tracy Chapman