Traffic jams aren't always what you think...

[Concordia...41]

As I blasted out of the house today anxious to get to SARAH and make good on my New Year's resolution to do something on her every day, I ran into a lot of traffic on US 1 north.

I had come south an hour earlier so I knew what it was. Impatient to get forward (but for another reason), I watched the drivers around me grow increasingly annoyed as traffic slowed to a crawl.

Horns beeped, and, as traffic stopped completely, more and more drivers snapped and peeled off into parking lots and utilized turn lanes as escape routes.

I (knowing what was going on) was impatient to get closer, say a prayer and pay my respects.

Because as I was driving south earlier there were two fire trucks

http://spotted.staugustine.com/images/photos/100008/2008/01/04/gallery/1627457.jpg

hanging a huge American flag

http://spotted.staugustine.com/images/photos/100008/2008/01/04/gallery/1627497.jpg

over the entry way to Evergreen Cemetery, where a local man, Spec. Bryan Tutten, who lost his life in Iraq on December 25th was being laid to rest.

Traffic was stopped on all four lanes for the funeral procession. :(

I hope that the folks who were so impatient that a few minutes of their day was impacted by traffic and that acted so rudely read the Record in the morning and see the coverage of the funeral, honor guard, and 200+ cars in the procession and realize what horses arses they were. :mad:

And I hope that all of us realize that life is too short to be impatient because traffic is backed up for a few minutes. :(

[The Bigfella]

RIP Bryan

[Bill Griffin]

Amen to that. They wait for us ahead. RIP

[George Roberts]

If one is going to make a big deal of a funeral, it is proper to announce the traffic delays ahead of time.

Always remember that funerals are for the living not for the dead. The living who held the funeral were rude.

[Hwyl]

George, I read your name on this thread, and wondered if you'd have a rude and obnoxious take on it, I also thought it would take some imaginative twist to be rude about the death of an unfortunate soldier. I guess you didn't disappoint me.

It might be good to delete your post.

[Ian Marchuk]

Yes George your post MAY have some elements of truth in it.
Under the circumstances , could we not swallow our impatience and simply allow ourselves to experience this mild inconvenience out of sheer human compassion in the light of the the grief experienced by this soldier's loved ones.
From this imaginary friend ..... Please delete your post....
Ian

[Concordia...41]

If one is going to make a big deal of a funeral, it is proper to announce the traffic delays ahead of time.

Always remember that funerals are for the living not for the dead. The living who held the funeral were rude.


It's OK Gareth, I'll take this one.

George has a bit of a point that traffic delays should have been announced ahead of time.

But I'll point out that while in a town this size there's no real way to announce traffic delays ahead of time, there was an officer at every entry onto US 1 - Target, K-Mart, strip shopping centers, etc. -directing the folks away from the area of the funeral.

The fact that only a 100 or so vehicles were impacted by the closure of a major thoroughfare is a testament to good traffic control.

Also, even when the north-bound lane was allowed to move forward, I and many others chose to pull to the shoulder in respect as a phenomenal number of cars continued to pull into the cemetery.

George is correct that funerals are for the living.

Hopefully in some small way the outpouring of support brought comfort to the family of the deceased, since they lost Bryan's father in a tragic drowning a few years ago.

50-year-old St. Johns County man died Sunday after an apparent drowning on South Vilano Beach.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office received a call shortly after 10:30 a.m. about a swimmer in distress in the 4000 block of Coastal Highway, a quarter mile south of the Usina ramp.

Sheriff's officials identified the man as Thomas Robert Tutten of Vilano Beach. The Sheriff's Office report stated that Tutten had been walking his dog on the beach when he went to retrieve a raft for some children playing on the beach.

Tutten apparently began to struggle in the surf, according to the Sheriff's office. A neighbor in the area brought Tutten ashore with a surfboard where a resident on the beach began CPR until lifeguards and rescue personnel arrived.

Friends and family members of Tutten said they are not surprised that he was trying to help someone else when he died.

''He always put other people first. He was a good man,'' said Conrad Miller, a co-worker and friend of Tutten. ''The guy had a lot of courage.''

Born and raised in St. Augustine, Tutten frequently took walks on the beach with his golden retriever, Concho, according to family spokeswoman Mary Pearch. She said Tutten and his wife, Linda, lived across the street from where the drowning took place.

"He was really into the beach," she said.

Pearch said Tutten loved fishing, art, music and his family. He leaves behind his wife, Linda, and a son, Bryan.


Hopefully in some small way the outpouring of support brought comfort the the wife of the deceased since she has not one, but two small children to raise.


At the cemetery, Tutten's widow, Constandina Peterson Tutten, was surrounded by about 200 family members and friends as final rites were held.

The Tuttens have two children, Catherine, who turned 4 on New Year's Day, and Gareth, born May 17.

At the cemetery the sun came in and out of the clouds, the light shining through the more than 30 U.S. flags being held by members of the 82nd Airborne wearing their distinctive maroon berets and the Patriot Guard who surrounded the crowd of mourners.

A 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps were also part of the ceremony. So, too, was the presentation of the U.S. flag that covered the sergeant's coffin to his widow.


As to the living that held the funeral being rude, that is Mr. Robert's opinion and he can be a horse's arse if he wants. :(

[S/V Laura Ellen]

If one is going to make a big deal of a funeral, it is proper to announce the traffic delays ahead of time.

Always remember that funerals are for the living not for the dead. The living who held the funeral were rude.

Remember, If you need advise about medical issues, politics, finances, funeral planning or many other topics, don't make a decision until you have consulted with George Roberts, the arbitrator of all correct information.

When someone dies in the service of his country (or anyone for that matter), we should be able to accommodate a small traffic delay, and be happy we are able to pay our respects in a small way by showing the common courtesy of pulling off to the side of the road until the procession passes.

[Ian Marchuk]

Thanks Margo......