For whatever reason, I was thinking about those road-side memorials that commemorate people that have died in traffic accidents. There was a particularly spooky one on Jewel Lake Road in Anchorage near our house, and I saw several of these coming back from the North Shore earlier this week. That got me to thinking that there are two memorials located on my basic commute route that I go by almost every day.
The first is located at Park Ave. and 24th Street, just south of St. Mary's and kitty-corner from Phillips Eye Institute. This memorial was originally installed in March, 2008 to commemorate Sharonda Harrison, who was killed in a car accident at this intersection. I suspect that most people traveling through this intersection may not even be aware that it is here, but every time I ride or drive past this site, I look over at it and wonder who this person was and who put that memorial out.
The second memorial site on my route is much better know; it's Dennis Dumm's Ghost Bike at Park Ave. and 14th Street. Dennis was killed by a truck that turned into him as he proceeded straight through the intersection, in the bike lane, at 7:40AM on May 20.
Having ridden through here many, many times, it occurred to me that I had not yet taken a picture of Dennis' Ghost Bike, so I paused on the way in to the office to capture these images as well.
I didn't know Dennis Dumm, but I do know some of the people that installed this memorial to him. Again, every time I ride by this I glance over at it and can't help but reflect for a moment about Dennis and his loved ones.
I think that's a lot of what these memorials are about - a reminder from friends and family to not forget the people who have been lost to tragic accidents. On that note, it seemed appropriate to recognize both of these memorials here.
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