The best memorial to Marcus

On Friday, our region will say a sad good-bye to a little boy we never knew in life.

The remains of Marcus Fiesel, a three-year-old murdered by his foster parents, will be buried, an act of compassion and dignity in a life that knew so little of either.

No one can forget Marcus, but the question is how should he be remembered? Memorial ideas are pouring forth, from a benefit for programs for autistic children to a wall replacing the chimney where his body was burned. Well-intentioned people have suggested everything from a designating a Marcus Fiesel bench in the park where his foster mother falsely said he went missing, to naming the Cincinnati Zoo's new baby rhino in his honor.

Those acts may make us all feel a little better, but the best tribute to Marcus would be a way to keep more children safe -- and that would be for more kind, responsible, child-loving people to volunteer to be foster parents.