Who is it?

 Ever wonder about the people who carve their initials on a tree or use paint to write messages? Are they staking out territory or stating something important even if it's import only is momentary.

How different is tree writing, carving your initials into a desk or leaving your tag on a subway train? I've seen entire subway cars covered with balloon letter tags--someone's imprint. 

When the initials are on a tree, especially if they are surrounded by a heart, we think of teens in love. When the initials or names are on billboards or walls we see it as graffitti. Is this a class issue? 

Is there a difference between "bombing" with spray paint and using a penknife to carve? One is defacing property and the other is a simple message.

I always wonder about the people who leave the messages? What are they trying to tell the audience? 

Are the spray paint artists saying, "Look at me, I'm important. I'm Who I am." I've never used a spray can to leave my tag anywhere, but I once helped paint an entire car with dragons, shark teeth, and abstract designs. My cousin owned an old beat up sedan and he decided that it would be fun to decorate it from the rear bumpers to the hood. 

We purchased car paint and over one summer covered every surface of the car-- and then we left our initials on the bottom of the driver's door. 

People honked him when he drove the car.

" What does it stand for?" asked one man.

" Just us. It's our tag."