Memorials in Chalk
Apr. 4th, 2005 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mabfanBack on March 25, I made this entry reminding people of the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, in which 146 people lost their lives.
The New York Times had an article yesterday called "Memorials in Chalk" by Michael Molyneux. Registration is required to read it, but the gist of the article is that Ruth Sergel of the East Village gathered three dozen New Yorkers to write the names of the victims in chalk on the sidewalks in front of the buildings where they once lived. Apparently they did this last year as well.
I find myself approving of this custom, and hope that they'll manage to continue to do it. People who know me know I'm interested in (some would say obsessed with) how and if we'll be remembered after we're gone. There's something nice about this form of memorial. The chalk writing itself is ephemeral, but the fact that people are actually taking the time to write the names means that they'll have more impact than a plaque which is placed once and then barely glanced at by the busy people who pass it each day.
The New York Times had an article yesterday called "Memorials in Chalk" by Michael Molyneux. Registration is required to read it, but the gist of the article is that Ruth Sergel of the East Village gathered three dozen New Yorkers to write the names of the victims in chalk on the sidewalks in front of the buildings where they once lived. Apparently they did this last year as well.
I find myself approving of this custom, and hope that they'll manage to continue to do it. People who know me know I'm interested in (some would say obsessed with) how and if we'll be remembered after we're gone. There's something nice about this form of memorial. The chalk writing itself is ephemeral, but the fact that people are actually taking the time to write the names means that they'll have more impact than a plaque which is placed once and then barely glanced at by the busy people who pass it each day.
