Friday, December 02, 2005

A great memory jogger

I was riding home last night past the cemetary and I noticed a candle burning. One candle glowing in the darkness that's silenced even deeper than usual by snowfall.

It's a candle sitting on a gravestone. I remembered reading a story about the family who lights the candle. The boy died suddenly at age 18 from a hole in the heart and every night his father goes to the cemetary and places a candle on his grave, covers it with a glass shield and leaves it to burn out. It's his way of remembering his son and greiving.

Then he was told by the city to stop, because the rules say that you're only allowed to leave organic matter - flowers etc. that will rot away and not be a nuisance to the grounds keepers. The poor man was told not to continue his ritual that had kept him close to his son for two years since he died.

Obviously the council backed down eventually and as I passed the candle, flickering in the snowfall it made me feel a little warmer and I thought of the handsome boy and his loving dad and I thought, what a great memorial.

Going home now because I just looked out of the window and there's been a secret snow storm going on.

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