Around the turn of the millennium, Pittsburghers needed a hero. Y2K was rapidly approaching and the Steelers were having themselves a losing season. Times were tough and Pittsburgh needed someone to admire. And there’s no one a Pittsburgher admires more than someone who has an equal appetite for destruction. For this reason, Pittsburghers like Mook.
Mook was a vigilante. Well not really, he was just a graffiti artist, but Pittsburghers commended his audacity. He became the underdog that every Pittsburgher rooted for. (Kordell Stewart who?) For over three years, Mook spray painted his tag around the city, but went beyond back-alley walls and stop signs. He hit several overpasses and bridges, most notably the very top of the 10th Street Bridge, some seventy feet off the ground. He was like a Pittsburgh Spiderman, slinging paint, not webs, and instead of saving damsels, he ruined shit.
Pittsburgh folklore has it that Mook found the van belonging to the vandalism clean-up group “Graffiti Busters” and waited for the volunteers to take a break. Mook snuck up and burnt his tag into the windshield with acid. Mook was bold, and was a great choice for the vicarious living styles of many Pittsburghers.
Sadly, Mook was eventually apprehended by police (from incriminating spray paint receipts). It’s commonplace to hear a Pittsburgher to say, “I know exactly where I was when Mook got caught.” To Pittsburghers, it was truly the day that the music died…
So bye, bye, this here can-a-paint guy. Tagged that Chevy thick and heavy, and then let the paint dry.
ajgrieco
