What will we write, next time

The perpetrator(s) took their time carving each letter, on a giant scale, carefully into the snow and ice of the frozen waters of Moses Lake.

They used their shoes, squishing the snow down, the foot prints connecting end-to-end, forming five, huge letters. Not a single step was wasted or out of place on their snowy canvas.

It was a heinous act.

I'll give you a couple hints: The word those five letters formed is quite scientific in origin. Guys have them, girls don't.

Right there, for everyone to see. Frozen-lake graffiti of the most obscene nature.

For good measure, the graffiti bandits took the liberty of drawing two large illustrations beside the word itself. There was no mistaking their message.

Those traveling high above, aboard massive jet planes, could likely read it as they roared toward Grant County International Airport.

If so, perhaps "Welcome to Moses Lake" would've been more appropriate.

Simon, my four-legged exercise buddy, and I first saw it a couple months back during one of our weekend patrols of the lake shore. It appeared, prominently, to our left as we crossed Pelican Horn, along the Columbia Basin Railroad tracks, headed east toward Montlake Park.

My first thought was, who'd risk an icy drowning to walk out on the frozen lake and write such a word?

We just stopped and looked. The beagle sniffed.

Why not a word with a more religious origin, I asked myself? How about a patriotic word, one that's more inspirational, uplifting, commercially popular?

The point is, there's plenty of others to choose from.

The word "freedom" would be best written large. It's important to everyone.

"Peace" is really good, or the "Bible," or the old standby, "U.S.A." Take your pick, right?

Some people I know might even like "Wal-Mart."

The dollar sign might be a good choice.

"Who is John Galt?"

I'd probably pick "Taco Shop." Simon would opt for "rabbits." We're both hungry a lot.

In caves, our ancient ancestors painted bison, stick figures and tracings of human hands. Some scientists believe the hands were a sort of signature.

More recently, people just wrote their name, followed by "was here." This particular behavior lasted thousands of years.

In the last 15 years or so, which include my high school days, there's been a dramatic shift.

The simple phrase "Biff was here," for example, seems to no longer satisfy those hoping to make their mark.

Give kids a chance to write today, only one word perhaps, and the choice is likely to be exactly what Simon and I found imprinted in the snow.

I imagine kids visiting the presidents of Mount Rushmore, or the Peruvian city of Machu Picchu, and out would come their Sharpies. Five letters later, there you'd have it.

I clearly recall this crude word booming across the classroom, as the teacher's back was turned to the class. The students, including me, would all be pointing at one another, leaving the teacher with no way to track the outburst back to its source. This game was an endless source of amusement for students.

Our society today is constantly progressing scientifically, medically and technologically. There are more of us now than ever and our lives are longer and possibly more productive.

Despite the evolution, what we often etch in our caves, on the bark of our trees, the sides of our modern buildings or on our frozen lakes is just as primitive as it has ever been.

Thankfully, the ice on Moses Lake melted. The word was erased as the frozen water molecules on the surface were mixed, indistinguishably, with the rest of the lake.

It's sure to freeze next winter. What's going to be scrawled across the lake ice then?

David Cole is the Columbia Basin Herald's county reporter. He's sorry you had to hear from him, again.