Building a Better Mousetrap

I have taken up a challenge offered by ProBlogger to improve my blog in 31 days. In that vein, I've decided to try to post my Little Bits of History essays and see if I can interest someone with some funds to help me get it published in some form.

So I built a new blogging space and began posting my history articles. And then, I find I'm supposed to make a list. Having a list is somehow supposed to help me drive traffic. Many of the most popular websites are nothing more than lists, linking to other websites. I'm not sure how to make my history essays into a list of any sort or how that would help.

I guess at the end of the month, or maybe at the end of each week, I could link to the previous week's topics and create a table of contents of sorts. Seems redundant.

So I thought I would try a list over here, just to be able to say I did it. The lists could also just be bullet points, a way to clarify thoughts, according to Darren.

So my topic of choice here today is: Roadside Memorials.

Highway fatalities are on the rise. In 1990 there were about 25,000 deaths from car accidents and by 2000 the number had been increased to 43,000. I have no figure for current motor vehicle accident fatalities.

Those figures are a per year rate so the numbers keep stock piling. There are crosses and angels and pots of flowers decaying all over the roadways. What is the purpose of this?

The people who really care will never be able to forget where their loved ones died. The rest of us, frankly, don't care. We have enough problems of our own. Memorials are great which is why they make graveyards. If you don't like that, get an urn for the ashes. Please stop littering my country's roads.

Most items left along the sides of the roads are considered to be trash. These seem to be an exception.

If you feel you must annoy the rest of the population with your insistence that your loved one's death is more important than ours, please remember:

1. These are distractions for other drivers.

2. They need to be maintained or they rot into a pile of frank trash.

3. They should diminish with time, not grow as you add more memorabilia.

4. What would the planet look like if everyone placed these shrines at the sites of death?

If the intersection was so dangerous that your family member was killed there, why are you placing something to cause even further distraction? Intersection memorials are growing in number as people are killed by others running red lights. So what is the purpose of pulling the eyes away from the traffic lights?

Some of these memorials have been there so long they are faded, paint is peeling, the wood is rotting. They look horrible. If you don't care enough to take care of the trash you put up along the side of the road, it should be removed.

Some people are very good at upkeep. And they keep adding more and more items to the memorial. Stop that.

My mother had a heart attack and died in the bathroom. We have since sold her house. What if we demanded a memorial of a cross (Mom was Catholic) be kept in the bathroom? This is absurd.

People die and are killed and no one gets out of here alive. It is sad when a life is tragically cut short. For those who are suffering with fatal, debilitating disease, they will tell you, "Well, at least it was quick."

I have no idea when the process of placing trash along the road began, but it needs to stop. Many crosses are in the middle of nowhere. Those scream, "This moron passed out behind the wheel and ran into these trees." Why would you want that tale told to the world? Perhaps they mean to say, "This is where a really bad driver met his or her end."

Whatever they are meant to convey, it is nothing the rest of the world is going to care about. Those who are affected, already care. The rest of us might be seeing a different message than the one you think you are sending. Please, take your trash and dispose of it properly. And keep your memories of your loved ones sacred in your heart.