Journal entry by Al Negstad — a minute ago
Trygve and I have a favorite route to The Little House On The Prairie that uses a county road which leads us to Highway 23, at Cottonwood. Minnesota has a program that allows groups and individuals to "adopt a highway." Many states have such a program for picking up litter on a stretch of highway, typically two miles, for which the sponsors get their name posted on a sign by the road. Regularly traversing the same route I often know the names on a sign before I can read them.
It was two miles south of Cottonwood that tragedy struck, 10? years ago. A driver ran a stop sign and hit a school bus on Highway 23. Three elementary students were killed, two of whom were siblings. Now, a denizen of the land of grief, I'm more cognizant of the pain of those families. Unimaginable to lose a child like that and then two???!!!! A cross marks the spot where they died.
Turning onto Highway 23, this morning, I looked up and saw this sign "FOR A-J, EMILY AND HUNTER." Someone has adopted a highway in memory of the three students killed in the bus crash. What does that mean to the bereaved parents when they see the sign? My guess is it is a poignant comfort. Poignant as a reminder yet a comfort that their child/children have not been forgotten.
When the volunteers gather to clean the ditches I hope they tell A-J, Emily, and Hunter stories. The bereaved always have their lost loved one on their mind and it's a comfort to know others have not forgotten the deceased.
Yes, of course we visited Joanne. Sunny with puffy clouds, about 70 degrees, slight breeze...a perfect "Joanne day."
Takk for alt,
Al
Look carefully at the picture and you can see a row of corn peeking up. Knee high by the 4th of August.
It was two miles south of Cottonwood that tragedy struck, 10? years ago. A driver ran a stop sign and hit a school bus on Highway 23. Three elementary students were killed, two of whom were siblings. Now, a denizen of the land of grief, I'm more cognizant of the pain of those families. Unimaginable to lose a child like that and then two???!!!! A cross marks the spot where they died.
Turning onto Highway 23, this morning, I looked up and saw this sign "FOR A-J, EMILY AND HUNTER." Someone has adopted a highway in memory of the three students killed in the bus crash. What does that mean to the bereaved parents when they see the sign? My guess is it is a poignant comfort. Poignant as a reminder yet a comfort that their child/children have not been forgotten.
When the volunteers gather to clean the ditches I hope they tell A-J, Emily, and Hunter stories. The bereaved always have their lost loved one on their mind and it's a comfort to know others have not forgotten the deceased.
Yes, of course we visited Joanne. Sunny with puffy clouds, about 70 degrees, slight breeze...a perfect "Joanne day."
Takk for alt,
Al
Look carefully at the picture and you can see a row of corn peeking up. Knee high by the 4th of August.
No comments:
Post a Comment