Untapped Market ? I doubt it.

Something that is becoming much a too common scene around here is a cross on the side of the road. It is like a “x” marking where a person was hit and killed by a car.

On almost every main road in Cobb County it is a rare stretch of road that doesn’t have at least one cross on the side of the road. I am proud to say that where I live, Sandy Plains Road, there is no cross from one end to the other, which is probably close to an eight to ten miles. I picture someone new to this area driving the length of Sandy Plains Road driving maybe from his home in Roswell to downtown Marietta thinking, “something is missing on this road… I can’t put my finger on it…”

Not long ago I saw a woman using her boldness or ignorance almost made Sandy Plains Road conform to the current trend. Almost. She walked across Sandy Plains Road with more concern adjusting her radio or MP3player than the cars’ breaks screeching to avoid hitting her from both ways.

There are many people that are getting killed on the roads and crosses mark the spot, as near as possible, that the death occurred. Some crosses are non-pretentious crosses and some have a flair about them that draws your eye to them.

On Barrett Parkway there is a place on the side of the road near the Old 41 Highway that about five crosses are standing. Sad.

On nearby Chastain Road it appears that someone even planted a tree in the medium to mark the spot. The base of the tree is adorned with red, white, and blue flowers.

All the crosses represents a sudden unpredicted snuff of one’s life and sadness of the survivors.


I see a demand. Not every relative has the energy and know-how to put out a good shrine in their loved one’s memory. That is where a company I am formulating in my head comes in A company that can quickly put up a shrine to your specifications and get out of there before someone is paying someone else to put a shrine in their memory.

First and foremost you need to have a counsel session with the victim’s loved one – the one paying – and discuss just how much he or she is willing to spend. Then you can have a check off list. With flowers? What kind of flowers? To show you are an ethical businessman recommend artificial flowers – they are cheaper and last longer – after all, this “an’t no funeral”. Illuminated? A picture of the deceased? Maybe his favorite ball cap anchored on the top of the cross? Did he wear his ball cap backwards? If so, do you want the ball cap on the cross turned backwards? Any Bible quotes wood burned onto the cross? Do you want the cross varnished? What about using pressure treated wood? It is more expensive but will cause the cross to be more durable. Was he a sports fan of a certain team? Do you want the cross to be wearing a tee-shirt of that team?

I tell you there is a market – unless it has been tapped already.