Brian D. Mains

So it goes . . .

Recent Posts

  • Double Indemnity Indeed

    Double Indemnity Indeed

    It’s straight down the line for both of us, remember?

    Femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, Double Indemnity

    Anyone who has ever worked overnight or early weekend morning shifts knows the sometimes eerie, sometimes peaceful solitude of inhabiting a world asleep.

    Cincinnati appeared more eerie than serene as I headed to the station one early Saturday morning in March 2014.

    Heavy fog rose off of the Ohio River, swallowing the John A. Roebling bridge and low lying downtown streets.

    I remember thinking of a scene from “Double Indemnity,” one of my favorite black-and-white films of the 1940’s, as I rolled up to the bridge.

    The classic film noir features square-jawed actor, Fred MacMurray as life insurance agent Waltner Neff and silver screen sex symbol Barbara Stanwyck as the sultry Phyllis Dietrichson.

    In the movie, Dietrichson uses her womanly wiles to convince Neff to off her husband and cash in on the life insurance policy Neff sold the poor sap in the first place.

    Film noir being film noir, Neff and Dietrichson’s plot doesn’t go off quite as planned. There’s a double cross and a dogged insurance fraud investigator that leads to this final scene . . .

    Lucky for me, I neither met a dangerous woman nor got hit by oncoming traffic when I stopped on the bridge to take the picture inspired by Double Indemnity.

    (I did go on a few bad dates in 2014 through about mid-2017.)

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  • Goose Guano Gauntlet

    Goose Guano Gauntlet

    Strava

    I quite literally experienced a shitty, humid run šŸƒšŸ¼ Monday afternoon. Hence, the Goose Guano šŸ’© Gauntlet.

    Running along the Ohio River through three different parks in Cincinnati, Ohio didn’t help with the humidity or goose droppings either.

    And yes, I know that guano is technically the excrement from seabirds or bats, but I couldnā€™t pass up the alliteration.

  • May 9, 2019: Gratitude, a bridge over troubled waters

    May 9, 2019: Gratitude, a bridge over troubled waters

    John A. Roebling Bridge, May 8, 2019
    1. Standing in the middle of the John A. Roebling Bridge and taking pictures
    2. Running a segment of the Riverfront Commons Trail for the first time
    3. Finding a budgeting/financial planning tool that works for me
    4. Ridiculous group-text chains
    5. This quote: “We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty”
    6. Binge watching episodes of the new “Twilight Zone” hosted by Jordan Peele
    7. Signing up for a Yin Yoga session at Rooted Yoga in Covington, Kentucky
    8. Occasional rain showers followed by partly cloudy skies
    9. Being just a little more comfortable in my own skin
    10. Singing “You Can Call Me Al” along with Paul Simon in the drive to work

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  • Ohio River at Sunrise

    Ohio River at Sunrise

    In March 2013, I took a series of pictures during an early morning run along the Ohio River.

    Timing my run across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge as the sun began to rise to the east was completely incidental.

    The scene of sunlight piercing dense fog as it rose like ghosts from the river into the crisp morning air stopped me midway across the span. With no one else around, I reached for my iPhone to capture the moment.

    I heard the barge behind me as it chugged against the riverā€™s current. I waited for it to pass under the bridge.

    I watched the barge cut like a knife through the fog, making its way east toward the John A. Roebling Bridge.

    I then filled my lungs with cool air, exhaled and continued my morning run at peace with myself in the world.

  • A Rainy Day on the Roebling

    A Rainy Day on the Roebling

    Sept. 17, 2018

    I’m not exactly sure when #RoeblingWednesday became a thing.

    On Wednesday of every week my Instagram feed is flooded with photos of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge shared and re-shared by people living in Greater Cincinnati.

    Courtesy RoeblingBridge.org

    The Roebling spans the Ohio River, connecting Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky.

    When opened on Jan. 1, 1867, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world with a 1,057 feet main span. It was also a precursor to the more-famous Brooklyn Bridge, also designed by John A. Roebling.

    If you browse for the #RoeblingWednesday on Instagram, it’s pretty easy to see why the hashtag is so popular in Cincinnati. Do you have a similar social media hashtag dedicated to an iconic piece of architecture in your town?