The other night I was taking a walk through Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, coming back from an appointment at the hospital.

It was a beautiful evening, I was enjoying the beauty of these gardens looking at how lucky we are to have such a beautiful park with swans, ducks etc.

Then I started to cross the bridge that is halfway through the gardens, I looked to my right and what did I observe?

I observed a youth vandalising a young tree that people donate to remember a deceased loved one.

I was so incensed by this senseless, mindless act of vandalism, so I thought what do I do?

I was going to have a quiet word with the youth to give him a lecture about his mindless behaviour, but I decided not to as there were about six of his friends close by and I could have been put in a situation that might have escalated.

Reluctantly I walked on by as the song says, but it just got me thinking that this senseless, mindless act of vandalism represents a bigger problem in our society, what makes someone want to commit this act of vandalism?

And especially on a young tree donated by a family to remember a deceased loved one.

It’s just so sad that some young people seem to have no respect for anything or anybody these days, but the good news is the tree survived, where there is a negative there is always a positive.

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