And now, I present you with a brief exchange via instant messenger.

Your dramatis personae: Brian is a friend of mine, and he’s one of those insane hardcore fixie riders you see on the street. (Note: A fixie is a fixed-gear bicycle, meaning, coasting is verboten – your legs go ’round every time the wheels go ’round. Why is this insane? Well, perhaps you haven’t noticed the hills around here… Ride a fixie for a year in Pittsburgh and you’ll probably be able to kick through a wall while drinking a beer and eating a sandwich.)

TheOptimist would be me, and there’s irony there. I think. See, when asked to define “irony” I reply with “sort of like iron”. Which explains a lot about my horrible writing.

Huh? Oh, yeah. Right. Here’s the IM exchange I promised a long time ago, in a paragraph far, far above.

[11:27] brian: i want this:
[11:27] brian: http://flickr.com/photos/aalpern/253384407/
[11:29] TheOptimist: schweet

THE END (roll credits)

Hey, look at that… a map of Pennsylvania, and a heart over Pittsburgh. Which I thought was kinda cool, so I contacted Adam Alpern, the owner of the photo on flickr. Turns out, he runs a custom messenger bag shop out in San Francisco, Zugster Bags. Zugster makes custom bags only, doesn’t really carry any stock, just makes bags as you want them, how you want them. I dig the made-to-order concept a lot.

So he made this one for a guy named Derek, who lives out in Frisco now, but apparently is a native of the area. And not only does Derek now have this fantastic custom bag, I’m told he also has a tattoo with the same design. Not much else is known at this time about the mysterious Derek, other than a clear love of home. Well, that and a good sense of humor, riffing on the song Tony Bennett made famous.

Let’s see… where around here might Derek have left his heart? If you have a guess, leave it in the comments. And Cardiac Hill in Oakland doesn’t count.

Anyway, Derek, if you’re out there, good job man. Nice bag.