They?ve Struck Again!

I remember when I was nineteen years old serving in the military. I was in the latrine washing my hands. As I was drying them, I noticed a creation left on the wall. This poet decided to leave his little mark on the world with the following lines of verse (needless to say, I had to clean it up):



They paint these walls

I cover with pen.

But the [bathroom] poet

Has struck again!



Being young, I have to admit it did make me laugh. And over 25 years later, it has stayed with me. Most bathroom graffiti is crude, filthy, and not even worth the time to read. And I wouldn?t read most of it if weren?t for the fact that I was in the bathroom and it was right in my face. But this guy?s mark was pretty good.

But now I am a much older?and a more experienced?man who looks at the world a lot differently that I did when I was nineteen. When I drive down neighborhoods and I see graffiti written on the wall, it really makes me angry. My paradigm has truly shifted.

I don?t really think the ?artists? or ?poets? thought of how their creation would negatively affect the neighborhood they have just destroyed. I don?t think they thought about how those scribblings could bring down the image of the people who live there. I don?t think they thought about how the value of someone?s most valuable?and precious?asset could be depreciated by their thoughtlessness. Come to think of it, they probably wouldn?t care if it were explained.

But as a homeowner or resident, you know what it feels like. You feel it every time you drive past graffiti in your neighborhood. But you know what? You don?t have to sit there and accept it. When you see one of those ?artists? or the ?masterpieces? they wish to share with the world, turn them in! Most cities or counties should have an entity that handles graffiti enforcement and removal. The city where I live will investigate and have it removed in a matter of days. They?ve even caught of few of them.

Yeah, being much older, things are truly different. I can?t run as fast, my waistline is wider, and I now need glasses. I see the world through the lenses of experience and maturity. I?ll bet the [bathroom] poet is wearing those same lenses!