Article June 30, 1980 Issue

There is no such man

BETTY REISS

When graffiti began appearing all over our town, and spray-painted lists of nicknames emblazoned walls and fences, I asked my neighbor, who happens to be a police officer, what we could do about it.

"There isn't a thing we can do," he assured me, "although we know who leads the gang." He mentioned someone totally unfamiliar to me. We will call him Richard, although that's not his real name. "We know Richard does it, but he's smart enough not to let us catch him at it. The merchants who see him do it are afraid to make a complaint. It's a hopeless situation."

At that moment two thoughts came to me clearly in rapid succession. The first was, "Then, we will have to solve this through Christian Science." At once the second thought came with complete conviction: "There is no such man—no man who spreads ugliness."

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