The death of one cockroach isn’t enough of a story to be sending out notices on social media, and other than picking the carcass up with a piece of paper towel and throwing it in the garbage, that should have been the end of the story.
But when one particular cockroach quietly died in a stairwell on Texas A&M University a few weeks ago, she lay there, alone and unmourned. No one even thought to sweep her into a dust pan to be tossed in the trash. A singular event, perhaps, but over those two weeks, something extraordinary began to take place.
Professor Michael Alvard passed the dead insect every day, and over time, he noticed a change in the stairwell. First, the cockroach acquired a name, posthumously of course. One day, Alvard noticed that an enterprising student had set a headstone made of pink paper beside the cockroach, inscribed with “RIP Rosie Roach.”
Alvard says things just took off and grew from that point. The professor was so moved by the tribute, he posted pictures on his Facebook page. He had to continue posting pictures as the shrine for the little insect began to grow. Soon, there were candles, testimonials, and other objects being added almost daily.
While relatively humble at first, what started out as nothing more than a dead bug left on the stairwell became a “celebration of life.” Soon other sorts of items, a penny, bottle caps, even a cigarette appeared, along with real flowers, a casket and a lollipop.
“There is a candle now and a little coffin for the carcass,” Alvard wrote on Dec. 4. “And for the record, I had nothing to do with the genesis of this memorial.”
Perhaps it was fortunate that Rosie died in the Anthropology Department’s stairwell because it says something about us as being empathetic creatures. Was it the Christmas spirit that elevated the death of Rosie to one of caring for all creatures? We may never know.
But as one sticky-note left beside the casket explained; “You were always there to say hello to me in the morning, Rosie! We will miss you.” Rosie was cremated on December 17, and as she departed her earthly life in the stairwell and ascended into wherever cockroaches go, she left behind a small gift for all of us, one that reminds us that humans do care about life.
In all seriousness, this story does have a happy ending. A permanent memorial and scholarship for budding Anthropology students has been set up in Rosie’s honor. Anyone interested in learning more about this seriously worthy project can go HERE to learn more.
