Respect for funeral processions

To the editor:

I agree with Deanna Trousdale's letter regarding how nice fellow drivers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson are when a funeral procession goes by. Having lived in Cape for over 30 years, I too would observe the unwritten custom whenever a funeral procession passed. I moved to St. Louis in 1972. I hadn't been back to Cape since my father's death several years ago. I came to Cape to attend my great-niece's funeral in January, and it was heartening to see people pull their vehicles over for the funeral procession to pass by. In St. Louis, when I see a procession approaching, I pull to the side of the road. Passengers in my car ask me why I pulled over, and I reply, "Out of respect for the deceased." People in the metropolitan areas apparently do not observe this custom. Their inaction, I feel, is shameful and disrespectful. I'm certainly glad I grew up in Cape Girardeau.

RON GERHARDT, St. Louis