The Grotto.........

When you approach the Grotto that sits flanked by Pine trees, the first thing you notice is that it's quiet. Even with the midday traffic flowing past from Broadway and Linwood, you can hear the cars, the noise, but it seems muffled somehow. You walk up to the little altar, Mary is directly in front of you, perched atop the nave, to your left is a statue of the other Mary?, her face broken off. The stone alter is lined with candles, Faith, Superstition, all in the eye of the beholder, what is certain is that the candles are comfort and consolation to someone. The crucifix, Christ broken not by the sins of the world, but the hand of the uncaring, cruel, and thoughtless. Red wax streaks down the figures body thick like blood. The head met the same fate as the other Mary. A yellow A inside a circle is sprayed at the base of the alter.

When I first walked up to the Grotto, there were two men surveying the damage, talking to one another. We exchanged a few words, the standard, "Wow, that's a shame". One of the men tells me that the police are writing it off as the work of some drunk bum or wild kids. The guy says "It oughta be a hate crime". He goes on to say if it had happened at a black church it would have been. I just nod my head, not wanting to go in to a long debate on the difference. The two men walk away, as an old couple comes up the stone walk while I'm snapping a couple of pictures. The little lady stops short, not wanting to get in the way. I tell her I'm done, you go ahead. She and the old man, who I assume is her husband, approach the little shrine, I see her hand go up , even with her back to me I know she is covering her mouth, a universal reflex when an older lady sees something upsetting. The old man just looks down at the ground, shakes his head. I feel like an intruder, so I leave. I'm going back up there in a couple of hours, after dark. I'm curious to see what it looks like.

I pulled over to the parking lane on linwood road. A bright light casts shadows across the jagged stones, candles flicker, traffic slips past. The news is reporting eleven incidents of vandalism. Best I can tell this incident at the Redemptorist Catholic Church is by far the worst in terms of the impact it has had on peoples lives. My previous post, a couple of days prior to the vandal striking at the grotto, was half rant, half wise ass. I tossed around digs on Anarchists, but this isn't the work of an Anarchist, they don't really exist in this city. The person or persons doing this have shown their true colors, they aren't concerned with making a political statement, anarchy has nothing to do with this. The motive behind it all is one dimensional, it's just a game, a way to get the adrenaline flowing, a cheap thrill.

The result in this instance has touched more than a few lives. From the old couple to the countless people who come here to light a candle and offer up a prayer, the question is surely repeated over and over, Why? The answer is really simple, it isn't about anarchy, or making a political statement, it's just some freaks idea of fun. Whoever it was didn't stop to think about the impact, didn't really care one way or the other. They were just bored, it's a game. I can only imagine the impact this has and will have on the people who managed to find some solace , some comfort in the ritual of prayers and candles, in this little spot in midtown. I'm not a believer, but I come from a long line of them, so I know what something like this means to the devout. From the old white people who have spent a lifetime offering up their prayers and confessions, to the younger and poorer Mexicans who light the tall glass candles that line the small shelf below the now broken Christ, they have all been touched, victimized, by the vandalism.

You don't have to be a believer to appreciate this place. I've passed it hundreds, probably thousands of times, I never realized the little grotto was even there. I'd wager most in midtown were just as unaware as I was. We all have something that gets us by, for many it's religion. I'm not so arrogant in my disbelief to discount the importance of someones faith. I saw it first hand in my Grandmother who never missed a Sunday in church. Her entire life was centered on her belief in God. The people who come to this grotto are just as convinced as my Grandmother that God and Church are the answer . It's not up to me or anyone else to discount or make light of that faith. Even though I've been guilty of that very thing on more than a few occasions. I hope they catch this punk or punks. The sad thing is the crime won't be a felony, it won't be a hate crime, it will end with a fine and unsupervised probation, if anyone is ever even caught and charged. In the meantime the people who come to this little piece of heaven in midtown will keep coming, keep lighting candles, continue to offer up prayers to their God. They will even say a few for whoever did all of this.

***Crime Scene Kansas City has a map showing where all 11 incidents have taken place, and more on the story.***