I was out for a walk through Pioneer Square one recent evening when I noticed a young man at the main monument in the centre of the park. He was on his hands and knees in front of it with a bucket, soap and a hard brush. I could see he was cleaning off some kind of graffiti.
Being the sarcastic person I sometimes can be, I asked, "Did you have to do that?" implying he was required to clean the graffiti. He turned looked at me and said in a soft voice, "I couldn't do this - my grandfather fought in this war. This is so disrespectful."
I then asked, "How did you see this?" He told me he had been walking home and noticed the graffiti and just had to go home to get the supplies to clean it off.
Again I was taken aback and said, "Please make sure you tell your grandfather that you did this." He looked at me again and stated his grandfather was dead.
The youth of today are, as in any generation, always capable of something we do not expect. Any parent or grandparent would be proud to have someone who had the courage, tenacity and just plain love for those who sacrificed so much for us.
What did the graffiti say? "Thanks for nothing." This is the opposite of the truth, because we owe them everything.
John Sherber
Victoria
