Who gets a memorial?

Moments – Who gets a memorial?

By Sharon L Bratcher, May 30, 2025

In which my Dad makes a point with a humorous/sarcastic comment that makes me laugh when I imagine it.

            From the 1960’s on it became common to hear of groups of people gathering to protest or to support something or other. It could be a strike. It could be a sit-in to protest the Vietnam War or a gathering to promote Civil Rights. It could be a group gathering to honor someone who was in trouble or who had died. Always there was a purpose behind the gathering.

            All of this seemed new to my parents’ generation, and they didn’t quite see the point. No doubt they were busy working full time and taking care of 4 kids and they wondered how people had the time to just sit or stand around for hours, no matter how strongly they felt about something or someone. What would it accomplish?

            John Lennon of the Beatles was killed on Dec. 8, 1980 and a practically worldwide memorial was held in many cities to remember him on Dec. 14, 1980. Ten minutes of silence – it must have been amazing to see and not hear hundreds of gathered people.
Col. Harland Sanders of KFC fame died on Dec. 16, 1980. The connection between the two was only at our house.

            About a week after the memorial, we were watching what must have been a recap of the downtown Detroit gathering where hundreds of people sat with candles and alternately cried and sang some of John Lennon’s songs after the ten minutes of silence. My Dad shook his head. He remarked, “It’s ridiculous for these people to gather like that when they didn’t even know him, waving candles and arms and crying.” And then he said, “You didn’t see a bunch of people all gathered together when Col. Sanders died, crying, and waving chicken legs.”

            The visual that entered – and stayed – in my head all these years caused me to laugh heartily. I could/can just see them: hundreds of fans, all holding deep-fried-with-11-herbs-and-spices drumsticks, silently waving them to and fro in remembrance of the white-haired Colonel who brought us all such amazing cuisine.