Friday, March 12, 2004 | 2:59 a.m.
Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at [email protected] or (702) 259-4082.
WEEKEND EDITION
March 13 - 14, 2004
On the east side of Town Center Drive just north of the Las Vegas Beltway, a wood cross stands as a silent reminder to the hundreds of commuters who pass it daily.
Someone died here.
"To Our Angel in Heaven," the handwritten inscription reads. "Hi Babe. I miss you so much. I can't wait to see you. I still love you more than ever. I'll see you soon. Have a Merry Christmas. With love."
Roses in red and yellow, crimson poinsettias and white lilies, chrysanthemums and carnations crowd the base of the simple monument fashioned from beveled strips of wood. The silk blooms are faded. The real ones lay wilted and brown in their florist papers.
A single red candle in a jar stands among them, its flame snuffed out like a life ended before its time.
Along jammed urban streets, sprawling freeways and winding country roads, such memorials remind passersby of spots where others' journeys stopped abruptly.
Maybe someone ran a red light, drove drunk, fell asleep behind the wheel or didn't wear a seat belt. Some fit all of the above. Others met more violent ends.
In Mexico, memorials placed where others have fallen are called "descansos," from the Spanish word meaning "to rest." There, they date to the 18th century. Mourners carrying the bodies of the dead to cemeteries marked the resting spots with small piles of rocks. They later returned and placed small crosses on those places.
In America, they have come to signify the spots where people have died suddenly. But crosses, shrines and other religious markers lined up along public rights of way also have sparked controversy over issues ranging from basic clutter to the separation of church and state.
Members of a Nevada Department of Transportation committee drafting state policies for highway memorial markers are gathering public comments on the memorials through a series of meetings. Las Vegas Valley residents may air their views from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, at the Paradise Community Center, 4775 McLeod Drive.
"The NHP wants them out there. It's an educational tool. It says, 'Hey, people die out here,' " Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Angie Wolff said.
Color-coding them could send even stronger messages, she added. For example, red could mean a person who drove drunk died on that spot. Light blue could signify someone who died as the result of a drunken driver. Red-light runners, those who drive sleepy -- all could be targeted.
"It's a good way to educate people. It says, 'This is how these people died,' " Wolff said.
The person whose death is marked by the lonely cross at 215 and Town Center Drive obviously was loved and is missed. Most of us will never know who it was or how he or she died there.
It sits maybe 20 feet from motorists waiting at the red light. It's a five-minute walk from the park where children tumble down a slide and dangle from monkey bars.
It's just far enough away to make us wonder and just close enough to offer a reminder.
Someone died here.
Maybe we don't need to know for whom it stands.
We just need to remember it could happen to anyone.
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