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Thread: Memorials printed on car windows?

  1. #1
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    Memorials printed on car windows?

    I don't know if you know what I am talking about, but here in the Los Angeles area, I see cars that have memorials printed on their back windows. Usually, it is very short, like "In loving memory of John Smith, January 1, 1960 - July 25, 2006" I am tempted to ask the driver who the person was, how they died, etc.

    The first one I saw kind of creeped me out, but now I see quite a lot of them. I love all my family and friends, but when they pass away I wouldn't put that type of thing on my back window. Any thoughts?
    Any day above ground is a good day.

  2. #2
    SuburbanDeathHag Guest
    They are pretty common around here, Sacramento area. I have noticed when teenagers get killed in car crashes, a lot of those stickers appear. Makes a person sad. Seems like every year we lose some high schoolers to crashes.

  3. #3
    ComputerGuy Guest
    Pretty coomon here in 'bama.

    Especially Earnhart!!

  4. #4
    Bake Guest
    I too have seen quite a few here in Detroit area of Michigan. The deceased is usually a younger person or child.

  5. #5
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    Here's one I thought was pretty good...


  6. #6
    djdeath-hag Guest
    These are increasingly seen down here....you'd think that with so many (excuse the callous term) COTTONBALLS behind the wheel that there'd be even more of them. How odd would it be to see "In Loving Memory of the folks I took out when I accidently put my car in drive instead of reverse & made a drive through at IHOP"?!?

  7. #7
    mommafreak Guest
    My daughter dated a boy here in Kentucky and he died in a go-kart accident. he was being towed by a truck and sliding around a corner and he was in the other lane and a car came up on him. his name is on the back of very many cars here. i knew the boys since dating my daughter and i cry everytime i see that memorial sign. he was only 16. at his funeral, i put a motley crue album in his casket. miss him much.

  8. #8
    Gardner32 Guest
    I hate them. There is a place for a memorial, and it's not on the back window of your car! It's so disrespectful. Sorry, I am very opinionated on this subject!
    Last edited by Gardner32; 10-25-2007 at 01:57 PM. Reason: spelling

  9. #9
    Katie Guest
    I have not seen any, but looks like it might be distracting to the point of causing an accident.

  10. #10
    RubySlippers Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Aries65 View Post
    Here's one I thought was pretty good...

    What the HELL is that message supposed to mean? Creepy.
    I lived in San Fernando, Van Nuys, and Pacoima while growing up, and I found them a very common site. I am pretty indifferent to the idea. Whatever helps people cope, I suppose. Obviously - from the cities mentioned - they were gang related, but some weren't. Many were of parents or grandparents. I must admit, I have neverseen one for such a young child. I would never do it tho...it is pretty personal.

  11. #11
    secretsquirrel13 Guest
    I have not seen many inland...but when I was at Camp Lejeune there were ALOT...mostly for fallen buddies who never made it home...

  12. #12
    Ms. K Guest
    I hate to say it, because I know the purpose behind them,but I think they are tacky! I see them ALL THE TIME out here in the Inland Empire, and man, I just don't like them.

  13. #13
    Cataroo Guest
    We have them here in Pensacola, FL too ... but usually they're on the back glass of a pick up truck with a rebel flag in the corner (if you catch my drift ...).

  14. #14
    RubySlippers Guest
    LOL I guess that was what I kinda was saying, Ms. K.

  15. #15
    different kind of girl Guest
    I guess they mean something to the people who post them on their cars, but I think it is cheap and tacky. Don't memorialize me on a car, please.

  16. #16
    don't_axe_me Guest
    They seem to have grown from an ethnic/cultural thing. Same with T-shirts with a picture of the deceased and the info airbrushed for all the family to wear.

  17. #17
    Ms. K Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by RubySlippers View Post
    LOL I guess that was what I kinda was saying, Ms. K.
    It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks they're tacky!

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by RubySlippers View Post
    What the HELL is that message supposed to mean? Creepy.
    I lived in San Fernando, Van Nuys, and Pacoima while growing up, and I found them a very common site. I am pretty indifferent to the idea. Whatever helps people cope, I suppose. Obviously - from the cities mentioned - they were gang related, but some weren't. Many were of parents or grandparents. I must admit, I have neverseen one for such a young child. I would never do it tho...it is pretty personal.
    It was a joke one. This topic was brought up on another message board I'm on, and someone went and changed one of them using a phot-shop type of thing and we all had a good laugh about it.

    Maybe some of you aren't...sorry...

  19. #19
    hoxharding Guest
    Those are popular here and I can't figure why they are. I mean,would you want to be remembered that way?
    People used to stick Garfield dolls up the same way.

  20. #20
    firegilnotguns Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Aries65 View Post
    It was a joke one. This topic was brought up on another message board I'm on, and someone went and changed one of them using a phot-shop type of thing and we all had a good laugh about it.

    Maybe some of you aren't...sorry...
    Ha, I thought it was pretty funny!

    Anyway, I used to see those occasionally when I lived in Tennessee, but never in the DC metro area and never in the UK.

  21. #21
    Spencemom Guest
    It seems like those memorials are on every care in Miami.

  22. #22
    susalu Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by hoxharding View Post
    Those are popular here and I can't figure why they are. I mean,would you want to be remembered that way?
    People used to stick Garfield dolls up the same way.
    Don't see alot of those in Denver...

    My guess is that they want someone to ask about their loved one.... An opportunity to grieve, even if it's with a stranger.... I myself would never do that, and I have had my share of death lately, but I don't begrudge others doing it.... If it's cathartic and it helps, and it doesn't hurt anyone else, I don't blame anyone for doing it...

    Ann Landers used to say that when people are hesitant to mention the deceased to someone who recently lost a family member, it is like an elephant in the room... That most times, people want to talk about their loved ones... I have found that by and large, people like to talk about their deceased loved ones, and are grateful that you have the guts to say you are sorry and how they must miss that person...

    JMHO!!

  23. #23
    RubySlippers Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Aries65 View Post
    It was a joke one. This topic was brought up on another message board I'm on, and someone went and changed one of them using a phot-shop type of thing and we all had a good laugh about it.

    Maybe some of you aren't...sorry...


    Uhhh... Well I thought it was real because it was a memorial of a kid. No hard feelings-really.
    But maybe a photoshopped joke of a deceased adult may have been a bit funnier.

  24. #24
    xenaswolf Guest
    Lots of them here in WA

  25. #25
    ST Moron Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by geekygirl View Post
    The first one I saw kind of creeped me out, but now I see quite a lot of them. I love all my family and friends, but when they pass away I wouldn't put that type of thing on my back window. Any thoughts?
    I tend to view driving as a matter of life-and-death and not as anything trivial like, say, brushing your teeth.

    And since that's my perspective, I have to ask:

    1) Why would you put something on your car window that cuts down on your visibility and creates an increased potential for an accident? Please don't tell me that writing a bunch of stuff on your rear window doesn't affect what you can see.

    2) If you put something like that on your car, what happens when people feel compelled to drive closer to your car to try to read it? That's right: you've just increased the chances of an accident happening.

    That being said, I'm not at all surprised that people do things like this to their cars. It's just that I think it's totally ironic that by "paying tribute" to someone who is already dead, they may well cause an accident that'll generate even more stiffs.

    But whatever...

  26. 10-25-2007, 04:32 PM

  27. #26
    kelbons Guest
    Holy crap, they're EVERYWHERE here in Upstate New York! The most popular one I see is that of the NYS Trooper that was killed after a bank robbery a mile from my house...
    http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=18224

  28. #27
    Armcast Guest
    I see them all the time where I live. I've even seen some with two memorials plastered on the rear window. They creep me out.

    I swear if I ever did that to memorialize my deceased parents, they'd both show up to smack me around for doing it.

    BTW Aries...I nearly fell over in my chair laughing when I saw that pic...the hands...the "if only" comment....priceless!
    Last edited by Armcast; 10-25-2007 at 04:44 PM.

  29. #28
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    I can't say I've seen too many of these in the Northeast U.S.

    I'd like to be memorialized in some limited edition brew of Sam Adams. Maybe a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor . . .

  30. #29
    firegilnotguns Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by amaranthaseven View Post
    I can't say I've seen too many of these in the Northeast U.S.

    I'd like to be memorialized in some limited edition brew of Sam Adams. Maybe a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor . . .
    That would be awesome.

  31. #30
    endsleigh03 Guest
    I have seen them here also- they are depressing.

    And that one pic that was posted with the handprints? What IS that? A carbon monoxide death? A fire? Sheeesh.

  32. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by endsleigh03 View Post
    I have seen them here also- they are depressing.

    And that one pic that was posted with the handprints? What IS that? A carbon monoxide death? A fire? Sheeesh.
    It was a joke. It's supposed to symbolize a kid that was left in a hot car.
    Please read the previous posts...

  33. #32
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Aries65 View Post
    It was a joke. It's supposed to symbolize a kid that was left in a hot car.
    Please read the previous posts...
    Thats ok, you just explained it

  34. #33
    SW4 Guest
    .....obstructing rear vision, creating a distraction for other drivers....driving in London is bad enough when you have a clear field of vision. Can't say I've seen them here. There must be a Safety Regulation against it.

    Are these "memorials" usually as large as the sample in the photo?

  35. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by amaranthaseven View Post
    I can't say I've seen too many of these in the Northeast U.S.

    I'd like to be memorialized in some limited edition brew of Sam Adams. Maybe a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor . . .
    I could totally be cool with a Sam Adams brew...That would be a great way to be remembered.
    The survival of everyone on board depends on just one thing: finding someone on board who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner.

  36. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by SW4 View Post
    .....obstructing rear vision, creating a distraction for other drivers....driving in London is bad enough when you have a clear field of vision. Can't say I've seen them here. There must be a Safety Regulation against it.

    Are these "memorials" usually as large as the sample in the photo?
    Believe it or not, yes they are. I never thought of them as being a safety hazzard, just kind of cheesy.
    Any day above ground is a good day.

  37. #36
    SW4 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by geekygirl View Post
    ....just kind of cheesy.
    Sounds more like an advertisement than a memorial, doesn't it?

  38. #37
    magblax Guest
    I don't see them that much where I live. For some reason they seem to be more popular in Tucson than in Phoenix (AZ). I wouldn't want one but I get why people do it.

  39. #38
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    The only people that do that here are Gang Bangers. They do the air brushed t shirt thing too. That is so tacky. I went to a funeral once and the pallbearers were even wearing them. For gods sake at least wear a shirt with a collar.If someone wore that crap to my funeral I would haunt them

  40. #39
    phirerednga Guest
    I have seen quite a few here in west Georgia, however they are smaller and limited to one side or another of the window. Each to their own, but I too always want to know about them, and perhaps that is the point.....to not be forgotten, even if in a rather bizarre way.

  41. #40
    FloridaDeathHag Guest
    I used to think they were tacky and low-budget, but then I started to see a lot of them for military casualties in Iraq and it broke my heart. It appeared to be many parents of young adults. If that's how they want to remember them, then so be it.

  42. #41
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    I have Homor Simpson Memorial on my back window. He is bending over pointing at his bared buttocks implying that this should kissed. It is very touching.
    Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.

  43. #42
    Hag1 Guest
    I have seen a few; i thought it was a redneck thing (no offense to anybody i hope)

    Another memorial i don't like to see is a wreath or ribbon placed at the site of a crash where somebody died. I know someone that puts them at the site where her daughter was killed, every holiday. I feel it is a very distracting thing while driving and it just creeps me out.

  44. #43
    PvN73 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cleanskull View Post
    I have Homor Simpson Memorial on my back window. He is bending over pointing at his bared buttocks implying that this should kissed. It is very touching.
    haaaaa! Homer ROCKS!

    I have never seen anything like this here is Aust.

  45. #44
    OCEANLIGHTS Guest
    I agree, also don't care for the idea of the crosses placed on the side of the road where someone was killed in a car accident. Just doesn't seem right somehow.....

  46. #45
    Pryncis Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by OCEANLIGHTS View Post
    I agree, also don't care for the idea of the crosses placed on the side of the road where someone was killed in a car accident. Just doesn't seem right somehow.....
    Since you're near me, you'll understand this one and might even recognize it!

    On Hwy 501 between Myrtle Beach and Conway, there is a memorial complete with a bench, a tree, some little garden gnomes and other various little creatures. There is even one of those glow in the dark crosses that lights up at night. The memorial is right in front of a rather large ditch on the corner of a strange but extremely busy intersection. I can only assume somebody's car went into the ditch and the person died because every so often, someone will roll out a LARGE work barrel/cardboard? container with a spray painted sign that reads "FIX THE DITCH"

    Also, during Christmas, I was driving home one night and came across a faint blow glow in the middle of the median. I kinda had to slow down becasue I couldn't tell if someone was walking across Hwy 501. When I passed it, I saw someone had put blue Christmas lights on a memorial wreath that had been sitting there for a few months. It was put there, I assume, by the family of a teenage girl who died at that intersection last year.

    All those things on the side of the road are dangerous and cause a HUGE distraction!

  47. #46
    Ghoulie Girl Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Hag1 View Post
    I have seen a few; i thought it was a redneck thing (no offense to anybody i hope)

    Another memorial i don't like to see is a wreath or ribbon placed at the site of a crash where somebody died. I know someone that puts them at the site where her daughter was killed, every holiday. I feel it is a very distracting thing while driving and it just creeps me out.

    There is a thread that was recently posted relating to Roadside Memorials, you should check it out if you already haven't.

  48. #47
    bblvnvelphy Guest
    im indifferent about the memorial decals/stickers placed on cars.
    i see one car everyday that catches my eye, it has the persons name date of birth and date of death on the back windshield, and underneath in big letter it says
    "say NO to DRUGS and say YES to LIFE"

  49. #48
    HelenaHandbasket Guest
    I've never seen one here. I've seen the little decals in memorial of Dale Earhart, but none of the other ones. I'd think that would be very distracting. Didn't some group in the 80's have issues with those "Baby on Board" suction thingies because they obstructed the drivers filed of vision? I'd imagine this would do the same thing.

  50. #49
    Belle Guest
    We have them here in Wisconsin. The young really do it the most. Remember how important your car was to you as a teen?

  51. #50
    OCEANLIGHTS Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Pryncis View Post
    Since you're near me, you'll understand this one and might even recognize it!

    On Hwy 501 between Myrtle Beach and Conway, there is a memorial complete with a bench, a tree, some little garden gnomes and other various little creatures. There is even one of those glow in the dark crosses that lights up at night. The memorial is right in front of a rather large ditch on the corner of a strange but extremely busy intersection. I can only assume somebody's car went into the ditch and the person died because every so often, someone will roll out a LARGE work barrel/cardboard? container with a spray painted sign that reads "FIX THE DITCH"

    Also, during Christmas, I was driving home one night and came across a faint blow glow in the middle of the median. I kinda had to slow down becasue I couldn't tell if someone was walking across Hwy 501. When I passed it, I saw someone had put blue Christmas lights on a memorial wreath that had been sitting there for a few months. It was put there, I assume, by the family of a teenage girl who died at that intersection last year.

    All those things on the side of the road are dangerous and cause a HUGE distraction!
    Yep, I have seen the one you are referring to, creeps me out too. Now with the glow in the dark crosses it is more of of distraction that ever. Should't allow them on the side of the roads.

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