"It washes away," a neighbor remarked to me once a few years ago after she encountered a neighbor who became cranky and loud over some kids' chalk drawings on a sidewalk. "It's--it's graffiti!" he spluttered at her in protest against the degenerate behavior of our preschool population. Clearly, he felt outmanned and overrun by the happy little children responsible for the tulips and smiley faces marking the way to his stoop. They posed a grave threat to the life of his dark mood. (more)