Dayton, Ohio: Kennedy's Eternal Flame

No actual flame -- that's in Arlington, Virginia -- but a weird sculpture that makes it look as if JFK is being turned to ash, apparently by his own incandescence.

For those unfamiliar with the campus buildings (like us), the Kennedy hall is the one near the center of campus with the patio on the back lower level (if you park in the back lot, you will see a fountain on the left and a statue of Father Chaminade on the right). Follow the curved path around the building to the upper level; the Kennedy statue is on the left side of the doorway. There is a small concrete walkway surrounding it and you can walk right up to it.

Part of what makes the statue so spooky is that he appears to rise not only from ashes but his own twisted and broken bones. There's a sculpted upsweep that looks very much like a caved-in rib cage. Other knobs suggest bits of sternum and broken clavicle. The sculptor went off in a variety of very interesting directions.