Glencoe needs better graffiti artists

I think we need some better graffiti artists in Glencoe. What I have seen painted on the city streets, sidewalks and grassy areas is not overly impressive. Colorful, but not very artistic.
Anyone can make the orange letter “H” and spray paint it up and down city streets and boulevards from fire plug to fire plug, or spray paint streets with the blue, red, yellow or white measurements in feet and inches from manhole to manhole. And the little colored flags stuck all around the letters: well, that’s just cute, but not that cute.
If these sprayed-painted symbols had been done on business store fronts or on residential garages in the community, the perpetrators would be in jail. But not these artists. They are hired help — city, county, state and private utility workers marking water and sewer mains, telephone lines and electrical connections. Much of the “graffiti” is around the courthouse, and will likely be there awhile. At least until snow arrives … and stays. The least these “artists” could do is make the spray paintings of something we could enjoy viewing, like a mural, instead of marring the look of the downtown area with this modern abstract line art.
By the way, there is writing in the grass near the county parking lot on 10th Street. It is in cursive and hard to read. Someone want to translate?
Oh, you motorists may have to get out your vehicles in order to see this artwork. You also may have to put down your cell phones and quit texting long enough to see what I’m talking about.
There are other things I see on my morning retirement walks that make me wonder, too. Like these:
— Why do the sidewalks installed in 1937 look so much better than the ones put in over the past decade or two? My walks along 10th Street each morning, in particular, include sections built by the WPA workers during the Great Depression. They look a bit worn after nearly 80 years of use, but appear in better shape than the cracked ones that were installed a number of years ago when 16th Street was rebuilt. They must have forgotten some ingredient in the 16th Street sidewalks … for crack prevention. Some of the cracks are long and wide. Maybe the public employee graffiti artists can spruce up those cracks. An orange “H” would look nice.
— Why don’t homeowners trim the low-lying branches that hang over their sidewalks? My wife and I feel like limbo dancers in some spots, and I don’t bend that well anymore (actually never did). So I walk on the homeowners’ lawns to avoid losing my cap, or an eye, to the low-hanging branches. Perhaps they should put more Miracle Gro on their trees to get them to grow taller, faster.
— Why does it seem like walkers are going uphill no matter where they travel in Glencoe? Maybe it’s just me, but I always seem to be going uphill, or at least my legs seem to think so. Doesn’t seem to bother my wife, though. Hmmm.
— Ever wonder why those plastic tops for styrofoam coffee cups never quite seal properly? While I’m typing this, I managed to spill hot coffee down the front of my shirt. I think I’ll sue. The problem is it wasn’t hot enough that I even noticed at first. And it wasn’t Macdonald’s coffee, anyway. So much for that get-rich-quick scheme.
Maybe I should work on my coordination. You know, cup-to-mouth technique. Or just stop pretending I can multi-task. Either type or drink coffee, just not at the same time.
Rich Glennie was the editor of The Chronicle for 23 years. He retired Aug. 1, but still plans to submit an occasional column.