Sure Signs of Spring in St. Cloud...

The first robin...



The song of the black-capped chickadee in the morning...


The lime-green aura of trees budding, adding color to the recently bland landscapes..



The beauty and sweet fragrance of the lilacs blooming...


And...most importantly,

The St. Cloud Superman takes his perch at 25th & Division

Ahhh...spring.

St. Cloud Superman Sighting...

.I was passing by the Dairy Queen today, and the St. Cloud Superman had his very own version of "Mini-Me,"donning a "V for Vendetta" mask.

Not being one to pass up an opportunity for some blog-fodder on a light news day, I stopped and asked John if I could take his picture (to which he happily consented).

I remarked about his "V for Vendetta" mask on his protege, to which he commented, "There's a line in the movie, where the character says, "People shouldn't be afraid of its government; government should be afraid of the people. I thought it a fitting symbol for this day and age."

Can't say that I disagree.

From "Superman" to "SuperPimp"?

As you remember, I posted stories regarding St. Cloud's very own superman here, and here (more here) Well, the other day I was tooling around town on my Virago and passed the intersection of 25th and Division street, right by the Dairy Queen. Instead of seeing the venerable St. Cloud Superman, I saw a new character, sitting on a Coleman folding chair, with a fishing pole, and dressed up kinda like this:

Well, I had to check this out. So I parked my motorcycle at the DQ, got a frozen hot chocolate, approached the guy, and asked him, "What gives with the new get-up?"

He assured me that he was doing it just to "keep people guessing." He related that to dress up like a pimp was the antithesis of Superman. He added that he was all about freedom and freedom of expression.

Of course, during the conversation John Filla was his old congenial self, and graciously accepted when I asked him to pose for the picture above.

I don't know--I gotta kinda hand it to a guy who's not afraid to be "out there" and to make a statement.

Carry on, Superman.

I knew it would only be a matter of time...

Until the St. Cloud Superman got his own song:





Pretty much sums it up :-)

St. Cloud's Own Superman...

There's a guy that I've seen for nearly a decade now on the corner of 25th and Division Street, right by the Dairy Queen in St. Cloud. When I first noticed him, he would walk back and forth in a Clark Kent type get-up with his tie untied, his shirt unbottoned, with a Superman T-shirt visible. I always thought it strange that a grown guy would dress up like Superman, but "Whatever floats your boat," was always my attitude toward him.

Then came September 11, 2001.

Instead of a Clark Kent outfit, the guy started dressing in full Superman regalia, complete with tights, shirt and cape, waving an American flag. In the days immediately following 9-11, Superman would stand on the street corner, and the thousands of cars that would pass him on Division would almost without fail honk their horns and wave their hands in good will to the man who would uphold the community's sense of "Truth, Justice and the American Way."

After the feeling of nationalism post-9-11 faded, Superman kept his watch over the city of St. Cloud.. though people were not as kind to him. Although cars still beeped their horns as they passed by, instead of shouts of encouragement, there would more often be shouts of ridicule, or worse.

Yet Superman persisted.

I was happy to read this piece tonight from fellow St. Cloud blogger, View From the Cloud, about how St. Cloud's very own Superman lived up to his name by saving a man from committing suicide a couple of weeks ago while on the Veteran's Bridge.

Read the entire story.

Thanks, Superman.

***UPDATE****

More here, and here.