It’s becoming obvious to me that blogging about the Short North is going to be more challenging than I had expected. Turns out that with all the projects and tasks at hand, taking a break long enough to write about them isn’t so easy. There’s always the option to go do one more something and write about it a bit later. Unfortunately, “a bit later” becomes considerably later, becomes oops I forgot. This past week is a perfect example. HighBall has been barreling along full-steam. Meeting after meeting. Lining up bands. Getting permits for street closures, sound variances, alcohol sales, bagging meters, and half a dozen other required officiallities. Then there’s event insurance. Staging. Lighting. Recruiting fashion designers. Creating flyers, table tents and advertisements. Talking one-on-one with area businesses about the logistics. And, of course, courting sponsors. Thank goodness for committees and great volunteers who help lighten the load.

But at the end of the day, HighBall is one of half-a-dozen such projects underway in the Business Association of Columbus’ most hyper-active destination. The Short North Gala arrives October 12. The next issue of the Short North Visitors Guide is due out in December. We’re working on our plans for the holidays… which, of course, includes Holiday Hop. We’ve partnered with the city to address aggressive panhandling. We’re working with the downtown community to add way-finding signage to the area. You know, it’s really amazing how much great stuff bubbles up to the active list here in the Short North… and before you know it, another 80-hour week sneaks up on you.

So finding a few minutes to talk about it, isn’t as easy as I expected. That’s cool. There are little spics and specs here and there. There are moments waiting for meetings or the occasional solo lunch. There’s enough time to reflect. I know I have to work on the discipline factor, and take advantage of the snippets. It is doable.

Sitting on my patio watching the Sunday sun rise over the Short North Kroger happens to be a great little moment. Puck is squirrel hunting. The traffic is picking up. Laptop on lap. Battery only partially charged. Ah, that’s good; forces time limits. Looks like the district was hit with more Skully’s and Obama flyers. Mental note, take those down when we head out for our morning constitution.

Okay, here’s the real blog posting. Let’s call it “The Short North Spark”

I started the Short North blog with a bent toward the behind-the-scenes work we do at the Business Association. Now I’m realizing it’s also a great place to share the behind-the-scenes work the various district personalities do to make the Short North so special.

Friday night I received a call from Christie Nohle, owner of Urban Gardener. Christie was teaming with Larry Totzke, president of the Italian Villlage Society for a movie night fundraiser in Christie’s parking lot. The feature: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Larry had borrowed the SNBA’s information tent earlier in the day for the gig, but it hadn’t quite registered with me what he was planning.

Around 7:30 (yes, a bit later than I was expecting to be at the office on a Friday), Christie called to “reserve” my projector as a backup in case hers wasn’t strong enough. “No problem,” I agreed. About half an hour later, a second call from Christie: They had started the pre-movie cartoons. All was fine. “What are you and Frank doing? Come join us!” If you know Christie, you know how her voice can carry excitement and a sense of expectation and wonder. “It’s going to be so much fun!” So okay, Frank and I opted to cruise on over to Urban Gardener’s parking lot for a Friday night movie. Why not?

When we arrived, Larry and his wife Sylvia were serving up samples of Italian Village Society wine they had made at Camelot Cellars. The SNBA information tent was their distribution hut. Christie had brought out every chair she stocked in her business. Tall ones. Low ones. Metal ones. Cloth ones. The seating was as eclectic as the 30 or so neighborhood supporters who had shown up for the evening.

Frank and I tossed our $5 suggested contributions into the collection pot and grabbed our bags of popcorn, beverages, bags of candy AND Medco gifts (travel office supplies and sorta fun band-aid dispenser). Good lord. When did $5 ever get so much value? We perched atop a couple of patio bar stools and settled in. As the night progressed it got cooler. We considered sneaking out to warm up. Christie got wind of the issue and ran inside to snag a bright red jacket for me to cut the chill. Crisis averted. The movie was quite enjoyable (the black and white images playing off the textures of the brick wall added a ghostly, surreal sense to the storyline), but I was more caught up in WHAT was going on.

My neighbors were investing their time to create community. It wasn’t just happening, as so many would like to believe is the way of the world… things just magically happen. It was being created. And it took commitment, effort and time. And it touched my heart.

Larry. Sylvia. Christie. Running around picking up tents. Setting out chairs. Spreading the word. Making wine. So many little details. So much time. They probably raised a few hundred dollars on Friday for the Italian Village Park. But far more than that, they created a wonderfully experiential Short North moment. It was after work hours for everyone. But Christie was still setting out chairs for her neighbors. Larry was still pouring samples of wine and welcoming new comers. And Frank and I were absorbing the wonderful fruits of their extra labor, following what was probably an 80-hour work week for each of them. 10:00PM Big rounds of hugs. Helping hands to load equipment into cars. And we were off to the next Short North stop. Completely re-energized and inspired to do our parts the next time.

And as I finish this entry, the sun has fully risen and the entire area is buzzing with energy. Sunday mornings aren’t really as sleepy as everyone would have you believe.

Realization. It’s been another special moment for me in the Short North.

Now it’s time to take Puck on that morning constitution and do a little district clean up. Taking time for community isn’t always on the clock. Sometimes it’s not really work at all. Sometimes it’s an investment in the quality of life we each desire… and well worth the time to reflect upon.

Ciao.

John