CROSSROADS
ROAD CROSSES
Increasingly, we are seeing more and more
Crosses and Roadside Memorials
marking the site of fatal car crashes and memorializing the
victims.
899 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN 2006 IN THE STATE OF
INDIANA.
The
memorials, which often consist at first of just a few flowers or
wreaths, are sometimes followed by a more permanent marker such as
a Cross or a plaque. These are occasionally made more personal,
with names and mementos.
The sites are there to mark the place
where the person died and to warn others not to let it happen to
them. It started as a Catholic tradition, but it's so diffused now
-- it's no longer just a Catholic practice.
It becomes a kind of a portal where people
can go and speak to the dead person. They come and they leave
things for the person.
The practice of making descansos
came to the New World with the Spaniards. Also known as
crucitas or memorias, descanso means
"resting". The practice comes from the tradition of placing stones
where pallbearers rested between the church and the cemetery. Later
the stones were replaced with crosses.
The modern interpretation commemorates
those who have died in traffic accidents.
In the 1940’s the Arizona State Highway
Patrol began using white crosses to mark the site of fatal car
accidents. This practice was continued by families of road-crash
victims after it had been abandoned by the police.
It may be that roadside memorials mean
more to families than do cemeteries. At the very least, there is an
immediate reminder of the person in the site of his death. These
'sacred places' however, unlike cemeteries, sometimes serve only as
a place for immediate grieving and some are not
maintained.
Another aspect of these memorials is that
they serve as a warning to other road users, both as a general
reminder of the dangers of driving, and to mark a place where a
fatal accident took place.
Some states have programs regulating
Roadside Memorials. A few years ago, The Indiana Legislature voted
down a bill that would have taken down existing memorials and
establish regulations concerning them.
Thils is an easy
one.
We want to document/
monitor the condition of these Crosses. Therefore, in order to
claim a smilie, take a photo of the cross with your GPSr next to
it.
This Cross is located
across (NPI) from Pilchers Chapel. Dedicated to Todd R. Kaylor
1980-2001. There is another aluminum cross here as
well.
BE CAREFULL!
GO GATORS!
This cross was located by TRICKWORM. If you would like to
join us in hiding CrossRoads Road Cross Caches or know of a
location you would like honored, Email
SixDogTeam.