Headline: 鈥榁andals damage property throughout Parksville Qualicum Beach鈥� (www.pqbnews, July 8)
Details: On June 10, a residence and a vehicle were reported vandalized with eggs and graffiti in the 700 block of Sanderson Road in Parksville. The same day, a Canada Post box was reported vandalized in the area of Lowrys Road and Osprey Way. On June 11, vandals were reported turning on residential exterior water taps in the 100 block of Moilliet Street North, Parksville, on June 11. One day later, a sports facility was reported vandalized with damage to various doors in the 7000 block of Island Highway West in Bowser.
Also June 12 in Bowser, a municipal water utility building was reported vandalized with damage to a wall in the area of Cowland Road and Crosley Road, The same day, a municipal water utility building was reported vandalized and fuel was stolen from a generator in the area of Horne Lake Road in Qualicum Beach.
On June 14, a vehicle was reported vandalized, with a hole drilled in the gas tank, in the 600 block of Berwick Road North in Qualicum Beach.
That was just a small one-week snippet from reported activity in one area.
Sadly, it鈥檚 pretty much the same each week and not just here, but most Island communities. If you visit our website and type in 鈥榲andalism鈥� in the search function, you鈥檒l find an endless string of stories detailing the acts of buffoons damaging property that doesn鈥檛 belong to them.
Like lots of folks, I鈥檝e done plenty of stupid things in my time.
But virtually all of them only potentially damaged myself and my buddies.
We just stood on our back fence, jumped on the back of the (dairy) cows in the farm field behind us and hang on for dear life.
I once shot my pal in the backside with a salt gun (I was trying to scare him for fun). The only way to avoid involving parents was a brokered solution to have him shoot me in the posterior.
I can still feel it, and trying to hide that damage at the dinner table for a few nights may have been the best acting jobs of my life.
I鈥檝e jumped off a roof to see if I could roll like a movie stuntman. I couldn鈥檛.
After a few pops one fine evening, this Romeo climbed up many floors up a rickety fire escape to proclaim my affection to a Juliet I鈥檇 just met.
I mean, I could go on forever. My buddies could likely list a few hundred tales I barely remember.
But I鈥檝e never understood the need for vandalism.
Every time I see a 鈥榲andals鈥� story, it immediately takes me back to when I was in elementary school.
Annually on Halloween, a gaggle of meatheads would go out 鈥榚gging鈥�.
And every Nov. 1, I would see my neighbour, who brought his family to Canada to seek a better life, trying to hose off the eggs from the side of his house.
I remember feeling so sad then, and the thought of it still makes me so sad today.
Why?
It鈥檚 easy enough to look up the motivations behind vandalism: 鈥榯he thrill of risk-taking, the desire for recognition, the expression of defiance against authority, revenge, hatred鈥� and more.
Strong emotions being expressed in unhealthy ways.
If you enjoy the feeling of digging your key into the side of someone鈥檚 pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive; paint hate messages on the sides of churches or rainbow sidewalks; egg someone鈥檚 home or even break the sprinklers in the community park, there鈥檚 something wrong.
I can recall nearly having a fistfight with a buddy who one wayward night decided to bend/break every car antenna he could get his hands on in a parking lot.
He was laughing. I could only think back to the profound sadness and defeated look of my neighbour all those years ago.
I know I鈥檓 really getting old when I start wondering what happened to the concept of punishment. Do stupid things, win stupid prizes.
Perhaps it鈥檚 just selective memory but it often seems like whatever systems we have in place are a tad broken. The people tasked with dealing with it all are overburdened and solutions seem more and more like a pipe dream.
QUESTION: Can you recall some of the dumbest things you did as a young person? I'd love to hear about it, and what lessons you learned. PG stories, please!
PQB News/VI Free Daily editor Philip Wolf welcomes your questions, comments and story ideas. He can be reached at 250-905-0029 or via email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca
