The Case of the Fallen Cloud

Mar. 6, 2014

Last month, someone dropped a crumpled Kleenex in the stairwell of my girlfriend’s apartment building. No one — myself included — wanted to pick it up. It sat there for weeks, a miniature rebuke to all of us.

Yes, I could have just cleaned it up. But what happened next was more fun — and gave me a new respect for my neighbors.

The scene of the crime.

I bought a set of Bachmann Trains miniature police officers and set up a perimeter around the tissue, securing them to the floor with double-sided tape.

Two officers reporting to their lieutenant.

No, the patrol officers aren’t wearing Pittsburgh uniforms — but the white-shirted lieutenant would fit in!

An attempt at communication.

I figured I’d leave it up for a day or two and then clean the whole mess up. But the next day… this showed up.

How surprising!

The text: “Clouds fall from the sky/No one wants to notice them/Art makes us all smile. ” What an awesome neighbor!

I left behind a thank you…

Thanks for the support!

A close-up of the grateful crew.

The next day, got one final message back:

Sunflower.

Sometimes it pays to sit back and see where things go.