Public Honesty

photo by Erika Ritzel

This message is painted on the side of an old movie theater in town–the theater, in fact, where I saw Back to the Future and Back to the Future 2. Later, I watched Titanic there during a blizzard and the screen went black but the sound played on. It was sad for me when it closed several years ago because the gazillion-screen theater up the road took over. This one always had better popcorn.

The wall has been painted for a month now, maybe more, and I’m glad no one has come round with cleaning supplies. It got me thinking about the other graffiti I remember as a child. The bridge by the Hawk Shop and Pic N Pay was a popular place to express oneself. I was talking to a friend the other day and we remembered this: “Pam, I’m sorry. I still love you. Julio.” And then: “Will you go to prom with me?” This was in the 80s. We can’t remember if the two statements went together or not. Anyway, I’ve wondered over the years whether the certain couple did in fact party down at the PHS prom. And did Pam forgive Julio? Those messages have now been painted over by lame tags, the kind that are just names without any artistic value whatsoever.

Now I wonder: Who is S? Has she seen the wall? I want her to marry the writer and have babies.