Floating flag

I ventured to beautiful Avon, Ohio this morning. You may know it as the home of Duck brand duct tape (they have an awesome duct tape festival each year; I learned how to make purses and wallets and spread duct tape joy when I went a couple years ago), but that has nothing to do with why I was there.

Why I was there isn't important. What is important is that on the way home, I saw an American flag blowing gently in the wind. Alone, this is not an unusual thing to see. What made this flag different -- dare I say special? -- is that instead of standing tall on a pole, it was suspended from a construction crane that was holding it high above the earth.

I kept looking for the pole. It was pretty cool.

At the movies

Last week, the Cleveland International Film Festival came to town. It was a pretty intense affair with some fantastic movies that I saw and many I did not.

I got to go to the opening film and a series of shorts, in addition to a normal evening movie after work. And although it wasn't the best movie that I saw, the best part of the festival was the chance to go see an hour-long film at lunchtime. There's just something wonderful about going to a midday movie that makes you feel like you're playing hooky in a wonderful sort of way.

Next year, you should follow suit.

Again with the fog

No pictures for you today, but I will tell you that the fog this afternoon was subtle. It was as if you woke up bleary-eyed, without your glasses, and rubbed your eyes against the blur. It made bridges fade into nothing, as if they were Photoshopped away. It gave the air a certain brightness.

It also felt as if you were walking into an industrial freezer upon stepping outside: that cold blast, sustained, the air unmoving, an eye-opening chill but not an unpleasant one.

Family

So, Today, I had visits from extended family. The family of Arielle. That is all.

A foggy day in Clevelandtown

Perhaps I have already mentioned my love of fog. Yesterday was a magnificent day -- because it started out foggy and ended up sunny and beautiful.

This foggy image arrived in my e-mail box this afternoon. It's Progressive Field, where the Indians play, as coated in clouds. Apparently this guy took it. You can also see a fogless shot on his page, but what's the fun in that?

Not like the goat

I got called a "good kid" today. While perhaps I should have been less than thrilled, instead it caused me to giggle.

The seven deadly

I used the phrase "cardinal sin" in a story I wrote today, and wanted to check to make sure I was using it properly. A Google search led me here on Wikipedia. Which made me very happy.

Ookk

I got to use the word "bookkeeper" in a story last week. Bookkeeper is one of my favorite words since some Encyclopedia Brown story (or something) that involved a discussion of words that had consecutive repeating letters. See: roommate, balloon. But few have three.

Using bookkeeper led me to peruse this Wikipedia page. Careful: may be addicting.

Hello, sunshine!

The best part about winter is that it begets spring. And this past week, spring arrived -- at least for a little while.

This means bright sunlight, melting snow and people wearing shorts and short sleeves. Broad smiles. Windswept hair. Drinks on patios. It's awesome.

I ate lunch outside the past few days, sitting on the stoop of my building with a book. This evening, I managed to spare a few minutes for an art walk -- something much harder to convince yourself to do if it's an art trudge. Yesterday's warm weather inspired a trip to Coventry and some super conversation.

You Southerners -- with your 70-degree Marches -- may think we're crazy. But I'll leave you with the weather report from the college radio station this morning:

"Exceptionally warm... 63 degrees... unbelievable!"

And that pretty much sums it up.

Snowman

He was on a main stretch of road and had a red scarf, carrot nose and stick arms. But the best part? Resting in his stick arm -- on his snow hip -- was a bottle of Coca-Cola.

If that's not a Coke commercial in the making (or is it one already?), I don't know what is.

Optimism

On the back of a truck for a cleaning service:

Vehicle makes frequent stops... hopefully!

It was also decorated with pictures of Leprechauns flitting about.