Phillip Hong
1 May, 2007

This part of Woodbridge, Ontario is relatively new; not more than a decade old.

Rows of townhouses and semi-units were built and lined up in a crazy pace to new homebuyers, desperate for a piece of a normally "elegant" neighbourhood that has went AWOL due to sprawl.

I've seen the school being built, and its adjacent park being laid with the new grass; I remember a time when all this was just a pile of dirt.

Neighbours have moved in, neighbours have sold their houses and moved out. Neighbours have each painted their houses in a very unusual way to reveal their whole block as a bunch of modern "painted ladies" (a term to describe Victorian houses that have been painted in multi-colour).

So it had come to my surprise, when I was walking with my little sister to the library that rainy Tuesday afternoon to see part of a children's playground set vandalised, with the words "Woodbridge Boys" or "WB".

Whoever they are, they must be image conscious about themselves, being "part of Woodbridge" or just ruining it.

I am utterly confused whenever something is vandalized in of Woodbridge. This neighbourhood isn't known for its hooligan presence, but the big city has seemed to catch on up here. It seems that the children who play here will receive a big surprise while on the swings.

Whoever spray painted this should get at least a slap in the wrist; unusual, coming from a centre-left bloke like I. I'm usually supposed to whinge about why the children can't be prevented from doing something good with their time, but since there's not much to do here, other than contribute to the economic well-being of the city of Vaughan... but the belts must be tightened.

Phillip Hong, a Woodbridge resident, is a co-host and reporter on Centre Street, our current affairs programme featuring alternative stories and interviews.