9.26.2005

Tomb of remembrance

I was reading Jon Konrath's journal (which is a good read, especially if you're in an introspective mood) and saw his use of the phrase "tomb of remembrance." I'd never seen that before, especially in connection with the Internet, though the phrase is in a handful of places. The phrase popped up towards the end of a post about a guy who went to his school in exciting Indiana:

...Gunter was like the lowest member of the social pecking order at Concord. He came from a poor family, had greasy hair, some kind of speech impediment, and was into geek stuff like Dungeons and Dragons, but wasn't a bright guy, either. All through junior high and high school, he was the whipping post for most of the guys, and he got beat up a lot and just took the punishment. He actually tried out for a lot of sports, and tried to become athletic, and play basketball and football, and I guess it says a lot to be involved in preppy-dominated sports like that when you're the most hated kid in school.

And I think part of why I didn't outright just haze the guy continuously was the fact that I didn't want to be his friend, but I realized I had a lot more in common with him than I did with the jocko sport guys in school. I mean, I had this thing in high school where everyone thought I was some kind of kid genius, so it didn't matter if I only weighed 110 pounds of bones and skin and couldn't do a single chin-up, because someday I'd start the next Apple Computers or something. But Greg didn't have that going for him, so he tried to become a jock, which I guess didn't work that well either.

Anyway, there is no Greg Gunter tomb of remembrance on the web, and I couldn't even find an obituary or anything else online, except one hit that the public library would have one, but I'd have to go there and waste a day hunting for it, and it probably doesn't have a story of what happened or anything.

Maybe that post will become Greg's tomb of remembrance.

4 comments:

Jon Konrath said...

I was kindof hoping putting his name in my journal would bring up his google rank. That seems to happen whenever I mention someone in my glossary.

I did find his obituary, finally, through the local library. I have to send them a check for 15 cents to get a copy. That seems more than slightly stupid.

I think that "tomb of rememberance" popped in my head from a web page about those little memorials of crosses/flowers/photos/whatever that crop up on the side of a highway when a fatal accident happens there. One time, during a trip across the country, I saw so many of those that I became convinced I should figure out some kind of general taxonomy and do some research and take photos for some kind of book. But, you know, this TV won't watch itself.

Anonymous said...

So did he die in a bike accident (like you said)? At least you know...the rest of the story (to quote Paul Harvey).

The idea you have about what you saw driving across the country is like the book "Assasination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell. She's quirky and successful for it.

That TV line is funny--another blogworthy comment.

comrade_tovarich said...

The Internet seems a good way to provide memorials (e.g., Tim Leary's is out there), for the cost of maintenance is effectively zero, thus putting online obituaries within reach of everyone. Of course, you'd have to write one up beforehand, depending on what you wanted it to say.

Where is Concord, IN? Is it near Salem?

Jon Konrath said...

Concord is actually a high school, in Elkhart, IN. Elkhart is about four or five miles north of Salem. I went to school in Bloomington, maybe an hour? from Salem and knew some people from there, but I don't remember if I ever went there or not. I probably drove past it during some late-night random drive.