The Pennentenarry

School started for my daughter's this past Thursday. And Thursday morning, as I was out for my morning run, I noticed that--as is the tradition at Beechwood Schools--the seniors had "vandalized" the school. This prank occurs every year, and no one--not even the administration or the police--makes any real effort to stop it. The seniors fill the large trees in front of the school with red and white toilet paper (Where does one even FIND red toilet paper?), and this year the seniors wrote with removable paint on every window in the building, including the ones on the second floor, signing their names and comments about their lives and strange symbolic messages that I didn't understand. It's harmless, and the seniors themselves help clean up at the end of the first day.

For the last couple of years, though, there have been a couple of true vandals who mix in with the seniors. This year someone spray painted something on one of the banners in front of the school, and someone spray painted above the entrance of the high school, on the concrete section where it wasn't so easily removed, "Beechwood Penitentiary." Except the vandal didn't know how to spell the word "penitentiary," so that the message read "Beechwood Pennentenarry." There was something ironic about a vandal who can't spell criticizing education. I went to take a photo of the sign that evening but my daughters said it was the FIRST thing that the administration had removed from the building. Which is a shame, because I think it should have been left up there to show the ignorance of those who don't value education. In fact, I think the school should have found out who the perpetrator was and--instead of suspending him--given him a spray can and said, "Go on! Paint whatever you want on the building! You're promoting the need for education with every word you misspell."

It reminded me of this bit from comedian Brian Regan, whom I wrote about in a prior blog entry as a comedian I can really relate to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS8E2_VE1gY&t=2m57s