Headline: B次元官网网址榁andals damage property throughout Parksville Qualicum BeachB次元官网网址� (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, itB次元官网网址檚 pretty much the same each week and not just here, but most Island communities. If you visit our website and type in B次元官网网址榲andalismB次元官网网址� in the search function, youB次元官网网址檒l find an endless string of stories detailing the acts of buffoons damaging property that doesnB次元官网网址檛 belong to them.
Like lots of folks, IB次元官网网址檝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.
IB次元官网网址檝e jumped off a roof to see if I could roll like a movie stuntman. I couldnB次元官网网址檛.
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 IB次元官网网址檇 just met.
I mean, I could go on forever. My buddies could likely list a few hundred tales I barely remember.
But IB次元官网网址檝e never understood the need for vandalism.
Every time I see a B次元官网网址榲andalsB次元官网网址� story, it immediately takes me back to when I was in elementary school.
Annually on Halloween, a gaggle of meatheads would go out B次元官网网址榚ggingB次元官网网址�.
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?
ItB次元官网网址檚 easy enough to look up the motivations behind vandalism: B次元官网网址榯he thrill of risk-taking, the desire for recognition, the expression of defiance against authority, revenge, hatredB次元官网网址� and more.
Strong emotions being expressed in unhealthy ways.
If you enjoy the feeling of digging your key into the side of someoneB次元官网网址檚 pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive; paint hate messages on the sides of churches or rainbow sidewalks; egg someoneB次元官网网址檚 home or even break the sprinklers in the community park, thereB次元官网网址檚 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 IB次元官网网址檓 really getting old when I start wondering what happened to the concept of punishment. Do stupid things, win stupid prizes.
Perhaps itB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址/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
