This Week’s guest blogger is Marianne Lannan, owner of The Lamp Shade.

Looking out my window in the Short North, on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and N. High St., I enjoy the ever-changing windows of the Flower Child across the street.  Joe Valenti and his staff are masters at displaying mid-century furniture, décor and clothing in a colorful, fun and funky way.  Currently the combination of the royal blue vinyl sofa, the small orange Solid State TV with coordinating blue, orange, and lime green wallpaper is perfect for your rumpus room.  His other windows in yellow, black and white featuring contemporary art, Knoll glass and chrome table and chairs that are bright enough to stop traffic.  Mannequins are all tastefully dressed to impress the leisure suit crowd. Flower Child also has vintage outdoor furniture on the sidewalk, where you can stop and lounge for a few minutes, while the machine above the door sends a fountain of bubbles floating down the street.

There’s a metered public parking lot directly across the street.  It has a salmon-colored arched entrance that is hard to miss.  But when someone says to me, “You can’t miss it”, I most certainly can!  Still lots of people are excited to find such convenient public parking right on N. High St.

There is always a diverse mix of pedestrians on High Street.  Visitors from all over Ohio and beyond, newer residents exploring the area and the locals who have lived here for years navigate the sidewalks from morning to night.  Together they are young, old, black, white, straight and gay, of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.  The Short North is truly a melting pot that is a joy to experience firsthand from our window.

In both movies: “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and “Back to the Future 2″, there were parallel universes that showed what those respective communities would look like if a difference sequence of events happened.

And in both movies, the alternate reality wasn’t pretty. Curiously, both had striking similarities showing their alternative futures consisting of greed, corruption and really bad signage.

Why was I thinking of this? Well, in an alternate reality, the Short North could’ve been a very different place as well.

If the Short North Business Association didn’t (or didn’t continue) to exist, we would all see very different views outside our front windows than we do now. That alternative reality would be one where blatant commercialism takes over the Gallery Hops, homeless folks begging on High Street would be more prominent, the cost of parking meters would be more and, oh yes, really bad signage would be the norm.

Every day the folks at, and volunteers of, the SNBA work to make a difference. But unfortunately, it seems like not every Short North business owner sees the benefits… unless they’re paying close attention. I’m not sure everyone realizes just how much the SNBA does on their behalf, because if they did, way more people would be involved. At a minimum, simply by supporting the SNBA by being a member.

As Collin Castore, owner of Bodega, puts it: “For a relatively small contribution there is an entire staff of talented individuals who bring publicity & opportunity to the neighborhood.”  So obviously, Collin is paying attention. And granted, so are lots of other businesses, but not enough, because I think only half of the business in the area are supporting the SNBA by being members.

The SNBA works to make the Short North better, safer, and more prosperous for the businesses here. The work they do benefits all our futures.

So if we want to continue having a wonderful life right here in the Short North, let’s support the SNBA.

And that’s the view from my window…