Not like the tiny piece of paper Stephanie and I found on Van Gogh's self-portrait in blue at the Orsay museum in Paris bothered me. That bothered me because I knew it wasn't supposed to be there, but it didn't look like someone had put it there on purpose.
The sticker on the Havel memorial was obviously put there on purpose by someone and, even worse, someone else had half-heartedly tried to scrape it off, leaving an ugly, gluey mess on this memorial to freedom.
It bothered me every time I walked by.
I mean, I know it wasn't my revolution, but it was a historical event that had significance for people all over the world. I remember celebrating when it happened and how everyone I knew started reading Havel's letters and plays. It was a big deal, and the people who made it happen sacrificed a lot to make sure it succeeded. I read in my guide book that Havel himself was disappointed at how quickly people seemed to forget all the efforts that were made to gain Czech independence and was especially sad that this little memorial seemed to be so neglected.
So it bothered me that it had been defaced, and especially so that whomever had tried to clean the sticker off had given up so easily.
What else could I do? A couple of handi-wipes and some elbow grease and... you have to admit it looks a lot better, doesn't it?
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