Letters
Babcock’s comments seem cold-hearted
I am writing in response to the Front Porch article in Thursday’s Valley Voice written by contributor Sandra Babcock.
I too travel most days on Dishman-Mica Road and viewed the memorials on the intersection of Dishman-Mica and Eighth Avenue. I find Babcock’s opinion of these memorials distasteful to say the least. I feel her comments were cold-hearted.
Not everyone can grieve in a manner acceptable to everyone. Why should a person only use a cemetery to show grief? Does it show less dignity to erect a shrine on a roadside as opposed to a cemetery as she suggests? Why bring lawmaking and the suggestion of wasted money and time into the issue of a family expressing grief.
When I saw those shrines all that came to my mind was the thought of the families’ sorrow, their love for the deceased and a quick prayer for their healing. What is wrong with pulling the public into acknowledgement of their loss? If it helps to heal, what is the problem? Does Babcockhave a problem with public displays of grief? You state you are familiar with the pain of loss; yes, the passage of time does help. But not everyone finds comfort in a cemetery. Your lack of compassion was clearly shown in this article.
Shelley Spence
Valleyford
Passage of time not a cure-all
I don’t know how to start this letter, but I want Sandra Babcock (Front Porch, Nov. 18) to know that each person deals with a loss of a loved one in his or her own way.
The passage of time is not the cure-all. It takes a lot of work and heartache. My beloved has been gone for four years and while it is a little easier now, I miss him so very much each day. If putting a cross on the road where he was killed would have helped, I would have done so.
I’m sorry that you would have tired of looking at it, but that’s too bad. I do go to the cemetery often. It is quiet there as you pray, but for many, that alone is not enough. Often times items left there are stolen.
I think the tributes you print in the Voice are a very nice way to remember those who have passed on.
Dorothy Matteson
Spokane Valley