Recently, I drove my 76-year-old mother to Mount Hope Cemetery so she could care for the flowers placed on both my grandparents’ and father’s graves. As I was driving through the winding roads noticing the grave markers of people who have long since passed away, I felt ashamed not only for those who are no longer with us, but for the living as well.

I looked at all those grave markers and headstones that were either falling down with age or deteriorating to the point that they are no longer legible.

I realize some of the families are no longer around to take care of them. Why not take some county jail prisoners, give them a bucket of water, some soap or paint and put them to work? Maybe even take some of the people who have to do community service and plant flowers among the grave sites.

Don’t take the hard-core prisoners but some of the people who are serving time for drunken driving or someone who couldn’t afford to pay his fine; force them to work it off doing some good.

Some bleeding-heart liberals will probably say we can’t do that because it is against their constitutional rights to force them to be a part of society and with the same breath tell me, because I am a taxpayer, I will have to pay for a new computer or give that person a sex change while he serves his prison sentence.

In the meantime, I will keep taking my mother up to Mount Hope Cemetery every week looking at all the stones turning to dust with age wondering when my time comes and hoping a law will be passed forcing people to take action for their crimes.

Michael L. Woodbury

Bangor