A well placed bench and much more

I love a bench with a memorial plaque.

I adore any opportunity to imbue story, nostalgia, and history into this world. I can’t stand to see a building without a name or a library or school named simply after the town or street where it is located.

What a waste of an opportunity to honor someone of merit.

I saw this bench while on a field trip with my students yesterday, sitting atop a hill, and thought, “That is a well placed bench.”

So I climbed the hill to sit and check out the view. To my delight, I also found a plaque memorializing Francis J. Costello, a man who I never met but is someone who I think I would’ve liked a lot when he was alive. I also love city parks, good newspapers, and a well placed bench.

It’s such a simple thing – a few words affixed to a spot where folks will park their ass for a time, but in a world where people are so quickly forgotten and everything can feel so fleeting, this simple bench is a lovely and effective way of keeping someone’s memory alive and well.

Of course, my second thought after seeing the plaque was to question the capitalization of the “A” in the final line.

And maybe the capitalization of the “F” in the second line.

And perhaps the lack of an ellipse at the end of the first line.

But that’s just me.

Thankfully my inner critic did nothing to spoil the moment nor the view.