General Etiquette > Life...in general

Leaving things a year later.

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emeraldsage85:
The thread about leaving things at gravesites got me thinking about this but I didn't want to hijack it.

Over by the university in my city about a year ago there was a bad accident. Twin girls were killed by a drunk driver, which was a very sad story.

On the one year aniversary in October someone tied a balloon and a rose to the lamp post by the site of the accident. Now it's January and they're still there. The balloon is hanging upside down and the rose is brown.

I'm wondering if memorials ever outlive their welcome. Should someone go and take this down now? Or should it be left up in memory of what happened? There's already a black Fatality sign there to remind everyone.

jfulle5:
IMO, No. It's up to the person who put them there. And besides it kind of adds to the who look of it.

Virg:
While I agree with Mondrian that the memorial need not be removed just due to politeness, it is the responsibility of the person(s) doing the memorializing to keep after it.  A flat balloon should be removed or replaced, and I'd have gone with an artificial rose, but I'd still leave it be if I wasn't the one who placed them.  If it really bothered me I'd replace the rose with an artificial one myself, but other than that I'd say if it doesn't pose a safety hazard let it stand.

Virg

Clara Bow:
Here in my wierd little corner of the world we are knee deep in roadside crosses festooned with wreaths, flowers and whatnot. Some are in good repair, some look awful. Me, I find them a little creepy. There's nothing like riding down a dark road at night and seeing a cluster of white crosses every few feet....I feel like Jonathan Harker.
I think they should be nicely maintained. I'd keep a memorial to a loved one looking good. But not everyone has time to, and people move away or fall ill.

Gigi:
The site where Bill Cosby's son was killed had an artificial flower spray on a post for years.  It was periodically changed but not frequently enough to always look nice.  I traveled that route to work frequently and always thought it was so sad as the arrangement got windblown, faded and shabby.  I don't know who placed it originally and can only assume that it was in tribute to Ennis, but a ratty looking remembrance was worse than none, IMO.

So my opinion is that fresh, attractive tributes are fine, but they should be replaced or removed when they get old and ugly.

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