Monuments

Tuesday, 17 July 2007.

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On the bus this morning, I discovered the words “I LOVE CARESSA KELLY” on the back of the seat in front of me; I wonder, who is the writer? Who is Miss Kelly? What did she do which inspired him so to leave a testament of his love for her? I dream about little stories and happenstances that might have resulted in the effigy before me.

We all leave our own monuments in life, commemoration to that which we regard as important and memorable. I wonder what the instinct is which leads us to do so. Is it a desire to remember? a desire to make known to others? an attempt to transcend our meager lifetimes with something possessing a measure of permanence? Perhaps all of the above, or even something else.

This wasn’t the first monument I've found on a bus; I also wonder what it is about buses that make them so attractive for leaving memorials behind. Perhaps they embody transition, moving from one place and time to another, leaving us wanting permanence, or perhaps desiring to remember what has been. Perhaps those who frequent buses are those more likely to leave messages, or at least have a lesser regard for public property. I do not know.

But I do love finding other’s monuments, event though the true meaning is lost to me. I suppose I like proposing my own stories about who left the messages behind for myself to find. But the truth behind them I do not know, and may never know. Perhaps it is better that way.