Where there's smoke, there's another injustice

As the evening cooled off and the crisp autumn air settled in, we smelled the smoke.

Vicki Estes is a Topeka freelance writer. She can be reached at vaestes@sbcglobal.net.We could still smell something burning but didn't see anything on fire in the immediate area. We assumed it was a bonfire gone bad that Friday night and didn't concern ourselves with the commotion.Vandals recently damaged the Lincoln statue that overlooks my father's final resting place at Mount Hope Cemetery and overturned headstones belonging to loved ones long passed.I'm sure he was thinking, "Sure. We've just put new siding on the house and put in new windows, let's risk burning it down some chilly evening so the family can sit outside of the heated house and be toasty warm."No such luck, as we soon discovered. The foam substance had been applied by firefighters to douse a wooden play structure vandals had set on fire."We should get a chiminea so we can have a warm fire to sit by in the backyard," I told my husband. He smiled, as if to say, "Yes, dear," and continued on his merry way.We noticed the smoky smell after pausing the movie to make popcorn and refill our drinks. Not seeing smoke in the immediate vicinity and knowing the popcorn hadn't burned, we gathered our goodies and headed back into the basement, where it's easy to pretend we are sitting in a movie theater with all of the mounted animal skulls blocking our view of the screen.It was intermission on our regularly scheduled family night, which is really "daughter's" night since she picks the movie and dinner.We breathe a collective sigh of relief on weekend mornings when the park has been untouched by vandals. We cringe when we discover broken swings and beer bottles, empty beer cans and food wrappers tossed on the ground less than six steps from a trash can.Not too long after that discovery, the play structure disappeared, perhaps forever, a result of the constant vandalism requiring repairs to the playground equipment once enjoyed by the neighborhood children.If caught, what will the punishment be for vandals with such disregard for others? If history is any indication, they face probation, a fine -- not even a slap on the wrist.The next morning we noticed white foam, as thick as a fresh blanket of snow, in the park across the street. The last time vandals attacked the children's playground they left shaving cream on the slide, the swings and anywhere the children would touch. Perhaps they got a deal on a case of shaving cream again.

Vicki Estes is a Topeka freelance writer. She can be reached at vaestes@sbcglobal.net.