Use Your Imagination

You look at this image and probably see clouds over a mountain with a few cactus plants sticking up.

That may be what this scene actually, but use your imagination and think about what else it could be.

Maybe its a contrail from a jet. Maybe its the smoke from a fire. Maybe its something else that I haven’t thought of yet. Go ahead, use your imagination. It’s all in fun.

Inspiration

This sign on the campus of Indiana University is typical of those you can expect to find on a college campus.

I attended graduate school at IU and received two degrees. During my last stint on campus I taught courses in the School of Journalism.

Did I inspire any of my students? I don’t know because I don’t recall any of them telling me that I did.

A few of them did say that they learned something during my courses.

As I look back on my own time as a student at IU, I don’t know that anyone professors or anyone else inspired me, but I sure learned a lot that was useful from them.

Then again, maybe I need to rethink my definition of what constitutes inspire or inspiration.

Whatever the case, I came away from IU with the ability to think more critically than I did before I stepped onto the campus. That alone made my time there worthwhile.

Hitting the Spot

I have a fondness for small town burger joints, the kind that everyone patronized and where folks went after a high school football or basketball game to get a late night bite to eat.

There aren’t many of those left that are locally owned. Instead, the local burger joint is likely to be a chain operation that might have a few photographs in the dining room of local points of interests but otherwise looks like every other member of the chain.

So I was delighted to discover The Spot restaurant in Sidney, Ohio, located on the southwest corner of the courthouse square.

A friend I was traveling with suggested we go there to grab some lunch.

For health reasons I seldom eat burgers these days but I made an exception here because I expected my sandwich to remind me of those I’ve eaten at local places in other towns.

I was not disappointed even if the name of the sandwich on the menu reminded me of a signature item sold at a well-known national restaurant chain featuring the color gold.

But otherwise there was no comparison. The burger at The Spot was far better.

The website of The Spot has a page about the history of the establishment, which was founded in 1907 by Spot Miller.

It has had several owners over the years and at one time was itself a chain of five restaurants in Ohio.

Only the Sidney location of that chain survives. It was once known as Cook’s Spot after a former owner, Joe Cook.

The building housing The Spot was last remodeled in 1976. The exterior features a streamlined Art Modern look of white porcelain tile that has changed little since it was installed in 1941 following a fire on Dec. 31, 1940.

We had places to go so my friend and I placed an order to go. You can eat in the dining room or eat in your car at an adjacent car port with car hops.

I don’t know when I’ll be back to Sidney but if I get there around lunch time you’ll know where to find me.

Still Water

The fall foliage was at its peak and the water in the pond behind out condo was quite still on this morning as I sat in my office. So I got my camera out and made an image of the mirror images across the pond. Most mornings are not like this.

Sunrise Through Some Trees

It’s early April and the sun is rising over Berea, Ohio. I was sitting at my desk working when I noticed it. So I grabbed my camera and made this image. It’s nothing fancy, nothing out of the ordinary, just a moment that I paused to enjoy and capture.