Memorial cars

[vilakins]

While I'm here (and LJ is), this is something else I've been meaning to ask about.

A couple of months ago I was following a car with a man's full name on the rear window and something in a curving line above it which I couldn't read till I got closer. In a very fancy script it said, "In loving memory of". OK, that was weird, but then a couple of weeks ago I saw another car with a much more readable sans-serif "In memory of" followed by another name. Both names were fairly standard English ones FWIW.

Has anyone else seem this sort of thing and/or know anything about it? Is it a new thing or something old which has just surfaced here?

And now I'm off to a barbecue with some people from Greg's work. I hope some of the people I know relatively well are there.

Comments

[vilakins]

P.S. The custom came from the US; see this link posted below.

[pebblerocker]

Thanks for the link! It makes sense that people would be more likely to letter their car in memory of someone who died suddenly at an early age, when they're not expecting the death and aren't equipped to cope with it.

I saw a lot of them when I worked as a courier driver in central Auckland 8-10 years ago, so I'm sure they've been around in Auckland for a while. Perhaps now you've noticed them you'll start seeing them everywhere.

[vilakins]

Ahhh, the old reticular activating system! Neither Greg nor another Auckland friend has noticed them yet so maybe there are more in certain parts of the city.