BTS 13

I found suspicious letters and numbers spray painted on a neighbor's fence directly behind my house today - BTS 13. Today, I was struck by the elements of words - letters - and the power of those elements, not only to compose words but, on occasion, to bring up strong emotion. BTS 13 is a tag sign for Big Time Surenos, one of Longmont's 14 gangs.

What is a gang member doing behind my house? What is a gang member doing tagging a fence behind my house? It will sound pretentious no matter how I ask it, but what are gangs doing tagging in my neighborhood? Anger, fear - only last week I was in the alley after dark taking out trash. I did my civic duty and reported it to the police, and I closed the curtains across the kitchen windows that can be seen from the alley.