Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Final Thoughts

Some final miscellaneous thoughts (for now)...

This photo from the Buffalo News shows the house of my 3rd grade teacher, center top. This is the same one that appeared here in profile with the fire in the background a few days ago (thanks Terry, I didn't recognize it). The side yard that now harbors a green tent is where her dog runs in better times. She wasn't home at the time of the crash.

Rumor has it that Goodrich Road had to be shut down again yesterday because of lookie-loos. It's rather presumptuous of people to be tramping all over someone else's property to get a closer look at the site.

On that Facebook proposal to have Extreme Makeover come in and rebuild the house - it's well meaning, but is that what the family really wants?

The reader comments after the article on the subject on Buffalo Rising pretty much echo that sentiment also. The crew can't build any cute kids rooms as per their normal business mode. What are they going to do - attempt to replace the sports memorabilia and historical maps in a set-aside room? There can be no replacement.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that there has been some discussion in the Town about creating a memorial park there or something like that. That would be a great idea, but ultimately it's up to Karen Wielinski.

The cleanup may wrap up soon, but the investigation will continue for quite some time. For some, time stopped the night of February 12th. For family and friends of the victims, life as they know it will never be the same. For people of the town, especially for those closest to the crash site, the struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy will be a long one...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In 3-5 th grade I lived in the house in the upper right hand corner of the picture. Glad to hear Mrs.S. was not home. It all seems surreal to me
I like the idea of a pocket park, I can't imagine wanting to rebuild on the site.

Anonymous said...

sorry I meant upper left, I guess I am not awake yet!

Anonymous said...

Uncertain if the Wielinski's would want to rebuild on the site and thinking that a memorial of some sort might be more appropriate, I still think the home makeover idea is a good one. Maybe some kind soul with a vacant lot in town would do a like-kind exchange with the Wielinski's and then transfer Long St to the town. The family would have a new lot to build on and the other person would get a charitable deduction (and a really good feeling)!