I’ve often noticed those wood & styrofoam roadside memorials with flowers and handwritten signs for people killed in road accidents. They’re tacky but I love them because they show a piece of life where people just go and do things without getting permission from some government person. It’s a bit of life that hasn’t yet been standardized, bureaucraticized, and MacDonaldized.

Except in some states, such as California, Colorado, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, regulators have stamped out the personal initiative aspects. And now West Virginia is trying to do the same.

I didn’t realize until now that that the people who put up these memorials deserve one of the Leviathan Ankle-Biter awards. So I hereby present them with one.

And here’s a link to Matt Frost’s article at The American Scene where you can follow the links to more information about them.