An old, dear friend passed away this week, and we are thinking of watching many hours of Star Trek in honor of him*. I started thinking of memorials and things done in honor of a deceased loved one. Most of the time, these are tasteful and loving, but every once in a while I have to question the choice.
Most notably, cars. Minivans, usually. I’ll pull up behind one and plastered on the back window will be stickers declaring this vehicle is “In loving memory of [name here].” I guess I can see using inheritance money to buy a car in a pinch, but to dedicate an object that will not be around for a very long time but will begin deteriorating in just a few years and will have a lot of wear and tear from regular use seems a little disrespectful. “Mom got this in honor of grandpa, and now it’s a bucket of rust” doesn’t seem like devotion.
What do you do in honor of loved ones who pass? What have you seen that was of dubious value?
*In case you were wondering, we will do more than just watch Star Trek. There’s a college fund for his young daughter we will give to.
As for cars, if I was going to get one, it would be a great car. A '68 Triumph Spitfire convertible in honor of my dad, for example. A Miata for my husband, even though I think my knees would hate it.
I may be incorrect, but I don’t read it that way at all. I don’t see it as the vehicle being “in memory of…”, instead I see it as the owner simply making a statement that they want to memorialize the departed.
In my family we carve a small stone and leave it on the gravestone. If the grave is not grass covered, but a stone mound we leave it on the mound. If we can’t carve, then we have picked up a smooth or pretty stone at some point on a walk and will bring that one and leave it. If all else fails, we’ll buy a nice chunk of quartz.
We tend to plant trees as well. This becomes problematic whenever it comes time to sell a property.