I was in Lebanon area- took a detour to pay a respect. Instead, I serendipitously crossed paths with a retiree I learned works as an @IMS yellow shirt. He didn’t tell me a section was closed, or to turn around. Instead, he went to his truck. He returned with a project. Thread

Sylvia Likens is a victim of perhaps the most notorious and heinous crime in the history of Indianapolis. She died 7 years before I was born, but her heartbreaking story has, like many, always had a soft spot in my heart. Her resting place is in Lebanon. I was driving on 65 South

today and had some free time. (I’m unemployed. LOTS of free time). And, as I occasionally do when in Lebanon, decided to stop to see her headstone. The inscription is what got me the 1st time, years ago, I saw it. “Our darling dau”. The cemetery director theorized her family

wanted to spell out “daughter”, but ran out of affordable characters. It made me sad. So- when I’m in the area and have the time, I stop by to bring flowers, or wipe off leaves, etc. The stone may be humble,but it should still be protected. I’m weird. I know. At any rate,

as I was looking at her resting place, I saw a man tending to a marker a few feet away. We exchanged pleasantries. A delightfully engaging man, his name is Keith Titus & he’s a Lebanon native. We began to chat. He told me, upon my inquiry, that he was cleaning, and bringing back

to prominence, the stones of his in laws. Keith’s wife passed away in August, and as a promise to her he came out to clean and polish the headstones of her parents & grandparents. He showed me their plots, and told me of his project. He had brushes and chisels and solution. This,

he explained, is his promise to his wife. He visits and carries out his vow regularly. Which led him to ask what brought me to Lebanon, and I explained my sentiment regarding Sylvia Likens and her headstone. He asked me which was hers. Keith walked over, took a look, and informed

me her neighboring plot is one of his classmates who was killed in Vietnam. Then, he walked to his nearby truck. He came back with a power washer, a bucket, a large brush and a bottle of cleaning solution. “9 bucks a gallon”, he told me. “When it dries the stone will sparkle.”

He handed me the brush and bucket and I got to work. I did the brushing, he sprayed the residue in a rinse. The stone began to dry. As it did, we chatted for close to 30 minutes. We talked about his wife, his work as an usher at Pacers games and his work as a yellow shirt

at IMS. I joked that I’ve probably cursed him before while being re-routed into the Media Lot. As we talked, that stone began to sparkle and began to look befitting for any young person whose life was taken so wrongly and prematurely. I was proud of our work.

What started as two strangers near the resting place of a person they never met, ended as two guys befriending one another over a simple, common goal.
I’m glad I made my detour.
And, of you see Keith at IMs or Banker’s Life- be sure to tell him Hi. And thanks.