Got your graffiti mojo working?

My guess is that spell check on our personal computers nearly went into overload Sunday and Monday as local folks rushed home to see if the newest Peabody vandal — apparently a graffiti specialist — actually spelled “unstoppable” correctly when he (or she) spray painted it on the south wall of Peabody Market sometime before dawn on Sunday. The fact that he (or she) did spell the word correctly elicited almost more comment than the vandalism itself.

“LOVE IS UNSTOPPABLE” in tall letters adorned the surface of the grocery store wall and the words “LOVE ONE ANOTHER” were reportedly spray painted across the northern wall of the new police department/city shop building on Ninth Street. Sheesh. City employees were out early Sunday cleaning off the Ninth Street building and by the time I drove by in search of a photo opportunity, all the graffiti was gone.

I did take a picture of the artwork on the grocery store, thinking as I did so that my heading could read, “Peabody students finally meet state spelling assessments.” However, that is a rather mean-spirited attitude to put forth, so I didn’t do it. Having said that, it is difficult for me to believe that the person responsible is not a young person or that it is someone from another town. I have heard those arguments before. I didn’t buy them then and I don’t buy them now.

My regular readers will likely remind me here that some people in the community think I unfairly target our youngsters when things like this occur. And I would remind them that I also have blamed marauding bands of senior citizens from time-to-time just to keep things even.

This time though, I have to say that the actual physical feat of reaching that high and spray painting letters that big probably doesn’t fall to anyone in a wheelchair or using a cane or walker. In fact, since I am closing in on that age bracket myself, I am pretty certain that waking up in the dead of night (in REALLY cold weather, by the way) to wreak havoc with a can of spray paint, likely is not tops on any senior’s list of fun activities.

I will admit I am not positive the perpetrator is even a Peabody person, so everyone take a deep breath. I am not singling out local young people … or old people … or Generation X-ers. I am not. My money IS on a local young thug, but I am not sticking my neck out and saying I know that for certain.

However, if you are the young thug in question, guess what? You made a mistake. Someone says he knows who you are. Hopefully, within weeks, we will all know because you will be wearing a bright orange community service vest as you repaint the grocery store wall right there in front of all of us.

In the meantime, congratulations for winning the spelling bee. Now, can you spell ‘busted’?

— Susan Marshall