Hanging rainbows

To the editor,

I know you are trying to intersperse good news among the coronavirus stories, but you’ve run two stories in a row now about families leaving anonymous “presents” around their neighborhood. Maybe this is not the best thing to encourage right now?

The first story had girls making individual bags with rainbows and messages inside and taking them onto private property to leave at doors. Today’s story has a woman painting rocks and leaving them on both public and private property.

Honestly, if you noticed that a painted rock had appeared on your property or on the street where you take your once-a-day walk would you be filled with joy or would you wonder who had been sneaking around your property while you were safely inside and whether the person who left it was negative for the virus?

What would you do if your child touched the bag with rainbow ribbon or the rock with

“hope” painted on it? Would you smile warmly or douse your child’s hands with whatever brand of sanitizer you’ve managed to find?

We’re all bored. But finding a new hobby that involves leaving things anonymously is not going to make people feel safer or more secure in their homes. Plus, the bags and ribbon can blow away and just become litter, and painting rocks adds artificial and possibly toxic (depending on the paint used) elements to the natural environment.

One thing I’ve seen on my daily walks that nice — and is completely safe and only on the owner’s property — is to hang rainbows and happy messages from a small tree. There are several of these around the Strawberry Hill area. You can smile at these and enjoy them safely.

Elizabeth Swain Stamford

We’re all bored. But finding a new hobby that involves leaving things anonymously is not going to make people feel safer or more secure in their homes. Plus, the bags and ribbon can blow away and just become litter, and painting rocks adds artificial and possibly toxic (depending on the paint used) elements to the natural environment.