Let There Be Neon ! Rudi Stern !

While driving home the other night from work at around three in the morning, a realy-o truly-o ungodly-o hour, I wouldn't wish working at night on anyone, I noticed a small splash of neon light in a spot that had never caught my eye before, so I stopped to take this picture. The more I looked at it, the more I realized that someone really went to great lengths to cut the outline of this sign out with painstaking precision and attention to geographical accuracy. In France the country is often called "l' hexagone" as the outline of France approximates a hexagon, and many signs have a hexagonal shape for that reason... but whoever made this one was a stickler for detail ! Bravo to whoever you are, nice job. Only one of the three neon arrows was working though. Either they are economizing electricity, or this sign needs repairs.

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Anyway, neon signs always, infallibly, get me thinking about a guy who I was lucky to have met and considered a good friend despite the short time I knew him... Rudi Stern. Rudi was one of the founders of a company which is still going strong in New York City called : Let There Be Neon Don't hesitate to get in touch with them if you need any neon signs around your place, these guys are the best ! On their website there is a tribute to Rudi. He sent me the photo just below the sign here while he was living in Italy, just a couple of short years before he died in 2006. Rudi, Rest In Peace man, you were a giant in my eyes.

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