Keep America Beautiful

That was a slogan years ago to stop Americans from littering. We were supposed to care enough about our country to want to keep the roadways, highways and byways, and country lanes all clean and free of clutter. It has mostly worked.

There are, however, some people who flaunt the rules of the general population and purposely set up roadside litter. They call them "memorials" or some such thing. When someone dies in a motor vehicle accident, it somehow means "you are permitted to litter here" and society has come to accept it.

I don't.

Get your memorials out of here. If you don't die on a road, you don't get a second cross or angel set up in your honor. When we sold Mom's house, we did not demand the new owners keep a cross to her memory set up in the house. We have Mom buried in a cemetery and there is a memorial to her THERE.

I'm not sure which is the more annoying to me. There was a horrible crash up at the corner of our development. An unlicensed, illegal alien was driving a old beat up pickup truck. He rammed into a stopped car so hard, the car was propelled across the median and struck by oncoming traffic. The speed limit is 55 mph there. I'm guess there were three deaths.

It was all horrible. I feel really sorry for the bereaved family. The man driving the pickup is probably in jail now, but that doesn't help them. Neither does the third (possibly fourth) shrine they have set up along the road side. Those of us who know the story still don't really care. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but really – I don't care. I know it is all horrible and I used to be sorry for you. Now, I just wish you would take your trash and grieve on your own time. It has been years now.

Then there are the people who put up a shrine along the road because they are so bereft. Years pass. They never touch it again. It deteriorates and looks even crappier. I would like to see the trash pickers who go down the streets at times take these heaps of litter and dispose of them.

Even more upsetting to me is the outpouring of community support when a small child is killed. Outside the child's home or at the scene of whatever terrible event occurred, there are mounds of stuffed teddy bears or plush toys. This doesn't help the poor child. That kid is gone and beyond the need for toys. I would love to see some enterprising soul come by and take all the donated and useless toys to the nearest homeless shelter or abused women's shelter or the closest welfare office. Give the toys to kids who don't have any but can still play with them.

All in all, this outpouring of public grief is ridiculous. The public doesn't really need to be so involved in your private life. That is why it is called "private" life – it is yours, privately.

If we don't want to just use cemeteries for our remembrance of those who died before us, perhaps we can just do away with them. They aren't being as useful as they can.

Or maybe we can simply stop littering the roads. I don't need to know this stuff. And I'm usually thinking "So that's where the drunk guy was." Unless I'm thinking "So that's where the driver fell asleep at the wheel." Or maybe perhaps, "I guess that speed really does kill." What I never think is "God, bless this soul." I'm too busy being disgusted by the mess.