The idea for this character trait of Bill Stewart came from some real-life occurrences. There were three of them: my car was deeply ‘keyed’ by a cyclist on the driver’s side while I had my back turned to mail a letter; my sister’s new car was scratched all down the passenger side at a shopping mall; and several years ago I was told by a good friend about a Rolls Royce that had profane words scratched in the hood of it just three weeks after it had been purchased by a business client of his.

An accidental scratch or dent to your car by a careless person flinging their car door open into your vehicle without concern can be extremely annoying. If you’ve ever had damage purposely inflicted to your property, though, that’s a much more painful and irritating experience you won’t soon forget! Not only are you furious when you first discover the insult, but it can eat at you for a very long time, and if you let it, it can drive you crazy. The Rolls Royce owner, who had a love for fine and precious things, was so very proud to have finally ‘made it’ into the big leagues with his shiny new Rolls. He was seriously disappointed, however, to have much of the enjoyment of owning one of the finest automobiles on the planet severely impacted by someone jealous and spiteful of the wealth and success such a vehicle represents. After I discovered that my car had been keyed on Queen Street, not too far from my office, I have to admit that I would have loved to catch and punish the heck out of the culprit in ways I wouldn’t care to mention here.

I was fortunate that I knew the right people to repair the scratch to my car and return it to its former beauty. The fact remains that although I am talking about material items and the emotions relating to the ownership of these, people who carelessly or purposely damage property deserve to be taught a lesson about r-e-s-p-e-c-t, especially concerning the property of others. Ever had your car damaged by a careless or evil someone? I’d like to hear about your experience.