...you're always close to home."

I always remember my mom saying that as we stood in line for a Cedar Point roller coaster and ran smack into a family from down the street.

Philly is really a conglomerate of small towns, so it's very possible to have this experience when you live here.

And it always seems surreal because, let's face it, outsiders don't expect us to know other Philadelphians. We're supposed to be anonymous and unseeing.

But we're not. :)

I'm one of those guys who gets so engrossed in the mascot that I lose track of entire innings at a baseball game. So it was a real thrill to speak with the legendary Phillie Phanatic's best "phriend" Tom Burgoyne. Tom's an awesome guy with a real joy for what he does.

In a way, the guy's like a performance cartoonist.

Anyway, if today's installment has you gripped with mascot fever, here's one from the archives to help out.

I spent a few days with my wife and two boys visiting my family in Michigan. Because of the outrageous price and hassle of flying (especially with a 5yo and a 2yo), we drove. That's thirteen hours. One way.

Luckily, my in-laws live in Ohio -- almost in the exact middle of our trip -- so we drove seven hours to their place, stayed overnight, then got up in the morning and drove the rest of the way the next day.

After the three-day visit was over, we turned around and did the same thing on the way back.

I have to say. For a 5yo and 2yo, my boys travel extremely well. Especially the 5yo, who often gave up his DVD choice to his younger brother, who was not crazy about spending all that time in a car unless Thomas the Tank Engine was playing.

BTW... Portable DVD player for the car: I wouldn't try a road trip like this with young kids without one. Ever.

Anyway, in the "You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy" department... I was amazed at how quickly I had lapsed into old habits when I returned to my hometown.

Errands that I would have walked to without thinking twice became car trips. And parking that I would have found extremely convenient in Philly became a bother in Michigan.

It took me a while to get my attitude adjusted when I returned to Philly. For example, I took the 5yo to the Academy of Natural Sciences a couple days after returning. Since I steadfastly REFUSE to blow upwards of twenty dollars to park in a garage (don't get me started), we circled the vicinity of thee museum for what seemed like hours.

When the 5yo started complaining of dizziness from all the circling (true story), I started widening my search. I finally found a spot over on 22nd Street under the bridge (where the Women's Way mural is), and we walked in to the museum.

I MapQuested our route the next day and found out we'd parked a half-mile away (0.6 miles to be exact).

My parents would have had a cow.

OK... Not yet, but it will soon.

This is my favorite time of year. The weather is starting to break, the trees are on the cusp of budding, and everything is in a nice, muddy state of renewal. You can smell it on the breeze.

And with Spring, comes the warmer weather and, inevitably, a marked increase in the quality of people-watching on the streets of Philadelphia.

It's a good time to be alive in the city.

...there's no place like home. As I talked with my friends about my experience in D.C. -- and how it made me appreciate Philly in a new way -- they all had similar experiences... in different cities. How about you? What city made you re-appreciate Philadelphia?

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[NOTE: Your pre-order of "How To Make Webcomics" will be shipping in the first week of March. We're doing pre-orders because we need to let the publisher, Image Comics, know how many books you henchpersons want!]

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I have a similar story from my childhood. My mom used to make makeshift cookies by spreading cake frosting between graham crackers. We kids went crazy over them. A few years ago, we asked mom why she never made them anymore.

She replied indignantly that she only made those when she either didn't have time or money to bake. She was a little upset that we found those cookies to be a highlight of our childhood.

How about you?