Thursday, March 26, 2015

Heinen's Downtown

3/22/15 - Sunday morning I had to work on a project dialed in from home so I unfortunately missed out on going to Hale Farm and Village for their Maple Sugar and Pancake breakfast celebration. As bummed as I was I worked through it and took a nap. Then Gina called with a great idea! Let go to the new Heinen's downtown. Gina has desires to go downtown about once a season so I quickly said "YES" even before she was able to finish her sentence. It could have been "Let go downtown...YES... and light it on fire?...NO!"

Heinen's opened in the Cleveland Trust rotunda building on E 9th and Euclid a few weeks ago to some pretty rave reviews. This new grocery store is in one of the most beautiful buildings inside and out in the whole city...and to think that it has been sitting empty for the past 24 years. See when we think of the last 24 years of this city we think of the "Scooby Doo Ghost Town" years when you could practically run down Euclid Ave naked and other than catching a stray bullet, you'd get tired of running before someone actually saw you. That's the time when gems like this were laying dormant at the de facto crossroads of our city. It's amazing and at the same time sad to think of.

All it really took was a grand vision...and millions of dollars of infrastructure and transportation improvements to get us to the point where established brands are now poking around and playing with the idea of coming to downtown Cleveland. After 1980 and before the HealthLine, this intersection was just 2 wider than necessary streets crossing each other...just another stop light between you and a Browns game...lots and lots of grey concrete. Now it's a major stop on the nations most successful Bus Rapid Transit line. It's home to 2 separate historical building renovations. It can take you either from the highway to the lake or from Public Square to University Circle. It's one of the main entrances to the 2nd largest Theater District in the US. The success of this intersection is, in all reality, a measuring gauge of the success of downtown. If CSU and Playhouse Square are thriving and Public Square, East 4th St., and the Casino are successful, this East/West connector will see the increased traffic of downtown residents enjoying what great entertainment their city has to offer. If the North Coast is bringing in tourists and our financial district is creating jobs, we'll see this area come to life as a 24 hour thoroughfare for weekend visitors and weekday workers. If there are heads in the windows of the buses and traffic on the streets, our downtown is in good shape. If there are people in the shops and feet on the sidewalks, downtown is thriving.

Now with all that being said I noticed 2 things. #1 - There were people on the street on a 40 degree day. God sign! #2 - For those of you who though that the downtown population wasn't large enough to support a full scale grocery store... you were wrong. The first thing you notice after the beautiful building and the amazing interior is that this place is busy. There are a lot of people there shopping, taking picture, having a meal, etc... I probably said excuse me 2 dozen times or so. Navigating this place with all of the customers really proved to me that who ever made the decision at Heinen's to do this probably has bruised shoulders from all of the pats on the back he's received. I couldn't help but be impressed!


When you walk in to the rotunda building you are immediately stopped in your tracks by the beautiful restoration that has taken place. Every detail was delicately restored to its original magnificence. It's truly breathtaking. The main area of the first floor is table seating surrounded by deli counters for meat, cheese, and prepared dishes and bakery. Lots of delicious bakery. Off the back of the rotunda down the ramp is an isled area that holds household goods, dry foods, frozen food, and dairy. It really is an honest to God grocery store.

Gina and I shopped for awhile and it is true that some of the prices are a bit higher than what you'll find at a slave labor outfit like Walmart but you bargain shop like anywhere else. There's no price there that blows your mind like a $60 can of soup or anything. There's also a lot of free range, non-GMO, gluten free, hippie type of food there which is to be expected in a urban area that tends to attract people of the "hipster" persuasion. You gotta play to your base you know? One thing I didn't notice, although we didn't hit every corner of the place, was a section for over the counter meds like Advil or Alka-Seltzer. I guess you could go across E 9th to CVS, if you needed to. Then again we may have just overlooked it. All in all it's just like walking through whatever grocery store you have...except the alcohol section. Oh my goodness the alcohol section. 

Now I'm going to start by saying that I didn't see any hard alcohol so no scotch, whiskey, tequila, etc... but that's normal unless you're pittsburgh's own "giant ripoff" and swindled your way into being a liquor store to the detriment of smaller community brick and motor liquor stores. Heinen's downtown does however have wine and beer (plus I guess they have some gas station liquor like Kamchatka and Baileys)...and it's all on the 2nd floor balcony! 

If you're coming here to go to sight-see, this is probably where you'll end up to make the drive from where ever you came from worth it. The whole thing other than a lunch counter is beer and wine. You can make your own six pack which isn't that revolutionary but is always a welcomed perk. There's also Heinen's collaborations with local breweries for small batch brews to be on tap. Then there are the wine dispensers and glasses. For a price you can taste, drink, or practically put your head under the nozzle of many different kinds of wine from these stations. There's comfortable couch seating and table seating for you to relax and enjoy yourself. You can have views of inside the rotunda or outside at the city. It's kind of a cool place for a first date actually. Super chill, grab a snack, get some wine, and talk it out. I was really impressed by the selection and by this awesome area.


When we were done, we got our parking ticket validated since we spent over $50 and after I got us out of the parking garage that Gina (aka Joe Vozar) got us lost in, we were on our way. The Cleveland parking technology isn't quite up to snuff when it comes to validating our ticket so we had to find the very angry attendant who sarcastically kept saying "Boy I love that Heinen's!" Even he though couldn't bring down my excitement over free parking! That's right kids. It's a downtown miracle!!!

She never knows where to look even though we've taken about a billion selfies ;)
This from beginning to end was a great experience for me and I think Gina liked it too. It's a blessing in a city like Cleveland to have 2 market/grocery stores in 2 iconic buildings. We are literally the kings of classic old building food shopping areas. It goes to show you that if you are willing to take a risk (that really only is a risk because people are cynical a$$holes when it comes to a successful Cleveland and don't look at the numbers), you too can get in on the ground floor of this rising phoenix that is Cleveland, Ohio. The opportunities are there and you will be seen as a conquering hero if you provide a needed service, move into a classic old structure, and bring jobs into the city! You literally will make customers for life of the population of downtown because they are a growing base that are starved for the basic necessities. It's a win/win people.

So a month or so ago I switched cell providers from Big Red ($110/mo) to Sprint (almost 1/2 of that/mo). If you switch because of me and this post, please use my name as a reference and we'll both get a little extra cash. With that move I was able to get a new phone, the Google Nexus 6! This phone has a fun new feature...well new to me...called photo sphere. Below is my 1st photo sphere and also my 1st time sharing a photo sphere. I guess if you have the right browser and software and stand on your head while drinking a glass of milk and say the alphabet backwards...you should be able to see a 360 degree view of the inside of the rotunda. If not, then I guess you'll just have to go see it yourself. Actually go see it yourself no matter what. It is now up there as a sightseeing stop on your tour of Cleveland. It's that good! Oh and I'm pretty sure if you tried all of that, you don't have hiccups anymore either. Ya, I'm just that good! Peace out urban pioneers...until next time!



See if you can find Gina Bina! If you can, then you win. 
Win what? My undying admiration.




Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.


Get my blog posts sent right to you!
Put your e-mail address under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL
on the right menu and click Submit.


LikeShareStar, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

Friday, March 20, 2015

St. Patrick's Day


Remember, I'm 35... yuck!
3/17/2015 - Ahh St. Patrick's Day. It's the designated day to wear green, drink, and fight...AHEM...I mean celebrate Ireland's rich cultural heritage! In this day and age there is no greater St. Patrick's day celebration and parade than in good old Cleveland, Ohio. Doubt my claim??? Well consider this... every year Chicago takes the time and makes the effort to dye their river green to help celebrate. We just don't clean up the algae bloom for a week or so. Point Cleveland.
 vs.
Savannah, Georgia (the mecca of celebrating different cultures BTW) has one of the biggest St. Paddy's day celebrations in the world... except it's 70 degrees and SUNNY! Those poor gingers will burn to death out there. Now in Cleveland any day in March has a 100% chance of being overcast with 0% chance of seeing the sun. The palest of Irish people can run free outside without any sort of sunscreen. Again... Point Cleveland.

Now you would think Boston would be the top place to go for St. Patrick's Day parties and shenanigans since, you know -- you've watched TV, movies, and lived in America -- but according to Niche.com you'd be wrong... It f*cking pittsburgh. Yup. Even though it's parade is not as old as ours, 13.5% of their population is Irish and they go ape$hit on social media. Now instead of looking at other lists, I'm going to take this opportunity to player hate on pittsburgh since "they have so much and we have so little". Clevelanders again are guilty of making the most out of the nothing that was left after oh let's say 1950. Not only do we make all of the top 10 lists with only 8% of our population being Irish but we go crazy about it on social media even though most of us are too poor to afford computers or smart phones. Hey pittsburg, you suck. You toll road Nazi a$$holes... Point Cleveland!

OK, now to Cleveland's legendary St. Patrick's day celebration!...which I attended...looking like a tool. The bad part of looking so old is that 22 year olds look at me like I'm some sort of escaped Alzheimer patient from the old folks home as opposed to the 35 year old douche bag clinging to his youth that I really am. So I got that going for me. Luckily everyone was too drunk to notice my salt-and-pepper hair or protruding beer gut hidden under my overcoat...or that I wasn't wearing pants. OF COURSE I was wearing pants! Green ones actually. Anyways, it was much too cold to be creepy. Seriously cold!

After I parked in my super secret free parking spot (that's not really secret because I tell everyone about it), I walked right to ground zero for a good time downtown, East 4th Street. It was almost noon and the parade didn't start until 1 so the pedestrian only street was busy but not as crowded as I expected. I walked right through without worry passing classic staples of any alcohol-centric holiday along the way. Favorites like "Ready to pass out at noon man" or "body paint instead of a shirt boy" or "Woo-who girl" and her college friend "Skirt and knee highs chubby lady". Then there's my favorite, "I'm just here to celebrate my heritage and this is really scary old couple". They were all there  and they were all getting dogged by the judgmental groups of passerby's. I didn't doddle in too long because I was on a mission to get to my favorite place where I can always get a table and an awesome meal, NoodleCat!

After a delicious but ultimately gassy Irish themed meal at NoodleCat plus (2) $1 Black Label's, I was ready to go find a seat to watch my 1st St. Paddy's day parade ever! Now long long ago in a (what seems like) galaxy far far away Cleveland had Street Cars or Trolley's. No, not Lolly the Trolley like we have now. Think more along the lines of the San Francisco treat "ding ding" or a Street Car Named Desire...STELLLLLAAAAA!!!!  If you look down the major roads in Cleveland and wonder "why in the world are they so wide?!", that's why. Street cars going sometimes in both directions, cars going in both directions, and people all had to be able to fit on the street comfortably. Remember, things happened before you were born and there were more than just cars. Well thanks to good old GM, the street cars are no more and now we have these wider than necessary streets to try to navigate and god forbid try to cross. I tell you this story to show you my state of mind for the next paragraph.

Once I got down Superior a little I saw some open seating areas and thought to myself "Wow, what luck!" I really thought I'd have to stand the entire time. I chose my tree planter and decided to sit down around the E 12th street intersection... on the South Side. Too much detail? Nope. I broke out my phone and started to get my camera ready to snap some great picture for my blog...then the wind blew...and blew... and it was a cold Cleveland wind. But you know what?! I'm a Clevelander! The wind and cold doesn't stop me from having a good time. Hell the only Brown's tickets I can afford are for late December/early January games when there's 8 feet of snow and we're starting a 3rd string QB! Then as I began to look around I noticed that my side of the street was being abandoned for the sunny side of the street. My stubbornness met the start of the parade. Now I'm sunk. I'm the only non-smoker on this side of the street and I have every friggin' cop in Northeast Ohio marching between me and the sunny side of the street. Not to mention the motorcycle cops that are whirring up and down the street at 45 mph at random trying to keep the peace. Then there were the horse cops and the Irish dogs... and the distance between me and the other side of the street that used to carry street cars and cars and people seemed like miles... so I sat and froze. I say that now sniffling as I type.

Other than the cold, the parade was great! It was way longer than I expected too. They had everything an Irishmen ever did represented in one way or another. Accomplishment, senses of pride, stereotypes...it was all in there...well except for candy. The Constitution Day parade in Louisville has candy. Just a thought for next year parade committee. Also, as long as you stay away from the bar areas, this is one of those great things to bring kids to downtown. I'm always looking for those types of things since one of the huge complaints I hear is "there's nothing to do for kids downtown". Here are some pics I took. Click them to see larger sizes:

Took this from across the street... See how wide it is?!?
Irish CHiPs! Which in America are French fries...unless your Toby Keith. Then they're freedom fries.
Marching in kilts. Not as good as the Tilted Kilt but then again those girls can't play bagpipes... so it's a draw.
Our politicians! I'm guessing a few aren't Irish but I'm not sure which.
More men in kilts playing bagpipes. God bless their white, exposed legs. Brrrr......
Ronald McDonald even makes an appearance to no doubt peddle his Irish staple the Shamrock Shake.
My favorite float-type thing in the whole parade! By this time I was using a bus stop to block the wind.
They're going to invade the closest Country Kitchen!
East 4th after the parade was over.

After the parade was over I went to the new Heinens to finally get some pictures of the inside. Unfortunately they closed early for some reason so I did what any good man would do...Go to the Casino! After a little over an hour of gambling I walked out about $10 richer and 3 beer drunker. I call that a win/freakin win baby!

I walked home and napped/waited for poor Gina to get home from work. She loves St Patrick's day but had to work until about 8:30 pm. We ended up getting a few drinks in Tremont and headed home. As much as I love Cleveland, these types of events aren't the same without someone to enjoy them with. I try to pretend that I'm a photographer taking pictures for this blog and not out for a good time. It helps but it's certainly not the same...

Well with all of the big ticket events in the past couple of blogs, I haven't had a chance to talk about restaurants we've eaten at, vendors we're friends with, or changes to the city that I enjoy. Maybe next week I'll touch on those. Something always seems to come up though in this great city and that's not a bad thing. Have a great weekend Cleveland and Erin go bragh!




Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.


Get my blog posts sent right to you!
Put your e-mail address under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL
on the right menu and click Submit.


LikeShareStar, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.


Friday, March 13, 2015

Surprise 35th!

3/7/2015 - I try to keep my blog posts centered in and around our adventures in the Cleveland area but I'm going to go a bit rogue this week. I mean I have to! Even though it happened in good old Stark county, there's no way I can't highlight this one. It was just too good.

Let's start with good old Gina... girl loves a many thing but on the top of that list and in no particular order are:
  • Birthdays/Birth Dates
  • Party Planning
  • Buying Decorative Trinkets
  • Making the People She Loves Happy
  • Fancy Planned Dinner Nights Out
  • Family
Now by looking at this list I know you're saying to yourself "You had to have seen this coming right?". To that I say no and for good reason >>> She lied!... A lot. She was helping Gina with Bob's birthday and needed ideas for themes and decoration. I was there when she bought stuff for my surprise party! She was working late... again, a lot! Her job schedule sucks AND it changes daily so it's easy after a while to just let all of the changes go in one ear and out the other. I went to bed earlier, did some crafty projects, and caught up on shows. She was pushing me to reconnect with old friends and plan nights out. If I showed the slightest interest, that name went on the invite list. That would explain why no one could make any plans this weekend. She apologized for us not having anything crazy go on for our birthdays. I was OK with that...actually I was relieved to some level. We do a lot of stuff. Our whole life is 1 big birthday party after another so a calm and cool birthday weekend is fine by me.

The plans as I understood them were that we were supposed to meet my parents and her sister and brother-in-law at Main Street Grille in North Canton. We were jointly celebrating my Mom's (3/2), my (3/5), Gina's (3/7), and her bro-in-law Jim's (3/6) birthdays. The plan as it stood went right along with enough of Gina's traits to be very believable. So was her constant questioning of whether or not my parents were excited to go out and if I thought they'd get along with Tracy and Jim and if the restaurant would be OK and if we should bring gifts and what are we getting everyone and on and on... She gets very nervous planning things for family and since it was nothing but family...let's just say she sweat through more than 1 set of sheets awake at night thinking about all of it -- and she blamed my snoring! Anyways, only now do I know that it was because of WAY more than just the 6 of us hitting it off as a group...

As we pulled up to Main Street Grille she was visibly and audibly nervous...and cranky. I didn't think anything of it because she gets like this before family visits and holidays. It's funny because I notice the nervous ticks since we live together. Her sister and my parents get to see the nervous at all times, dressed to impress, and the every base covered version of Gina. I wonder what they'd think if they saw her with full lion's mane bed hair, in only a flannel PJ top, laying on the couch watching Mob Wives, eating cake with her hands and no plate at 11:30 am, while the cat licks milk out of an old bowl of cereal on the coffee table... you know, like I see her. She was also buried in her cell phone which again is not out of the ordinary but this time instead of letting the world know how close she is to being cast in the Golden Girls reboot by taking a picture of some felt trinket, she was scheming and making sure everyone was ready.

SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!...

The party was a complete success! Everything about it was catered to me. Scotch and beer and booze, cigars with cutters and special matches, goat cheese dip, scotch eggs, ...everything and all my favorites! I mean look at this little collection of goodies in the picture to the left... Holy shit right?!?! I now have a special stash for very special occasions like I freakin' helped found Playboy magazine or something. I mean I got lots of booze which is cool with me. I also received gift card and a entertainment booklet filled with coupons. You people know me so well. I also got the McCoy birthday special which involves a non-birthday card (this time it was 1st communion) and a collection of non traditional birthday gifts (sanitary products). I've tried this in the past but could never commit like he can. Classic misdirection!

The best gift was however was that my family, her family, and our friends old and new were there. Well not everyone but we are old and dealing with sick kids or finding a babysitter, no matter how much time you get, is difficult. No worries though. Even though you may be dead to Gina now, I'm cool with it. J/K

Instead of me getting into great detail, here are some pics from the party. Thanks to Jim, Kerry, and everyone else who took pictures. If you want to see more, go to my Facebook page, become my friend on Facebook, or ask me about them the next time you see me. Click the pics to see larger versions:
Oh Hi... all my friends...
Oh... and hi all my and Gina's family
Decorations! Mustaches on balloons
Awesome cakes for everyone!
Awwwww... BARF! ;)
Friends and Riley side
Vozar and Paul side
Desserts!

We're all laughing at Gina...because...well...she's a nerd!
I want to thank everyone for showing up and in the case of the Avdul's meeting us out after! I also want to thank the people who decorated and planned and baked. You are all very special people in my life and I am glad you made the time to come out and celebrate with us. It was so wonderful to see everyone and I truly felt loved by all on this special day. 

A big thanks to Main Street Grille in North Canton for all of the great food and atmosphere. Their cooks made things special just for us. They let pretty much have the run of the place. Everyone there was helpful and polite all night... Plus they put up with Gina the Task Master! That deserves a standing O right there.

Happy Birthday to my mom, Jim, the love of my life Gina, and her dad Ward. There's definitely something to be said about March birthday's... the energy is like the first tulip to pop up through the ground and snow drifts. Just as you forget how awesome Christmas was because it's been so damn cold, March comes along to give you hope for spring... and cake and presents!... and booze! I certainly can't think of a better way I could have spent my birthday. Love you all!
Don't threaten us with a good time! P-i-m-p-s!




Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.


Get my blog posts sent right to you!
Put your e-mail address under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL
on the right menu and click Submit.


LikeShareStar, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Fleetwood Mac at the Q

First... go back and read my last 2 posts. 17 and 26 views is pathetic and they deserved to be read. I promise they're funny and insightful...

2/18/2015 - Dinner at the 1890 Restaurant and Fleetwood Mac at the Q
My Aunt Paula and Uncle Brad were staying at the Hyatt Regency at the Arcade and were also going to see Fleetwood Mac so of course we decided to have some dinner with them at the 1890 Restaurant which is also in the Arcade. Well not so much dinner but appetizers since they only server breakfast and lunch. Turns out the appetizers were cheap and plentiful so it wasn't as big of a let down as it was initially thought to be. The food was good but the 1 poor waitress was overwhelmed since... and I quote... "we usually only have one or two couples come in for food after lunch is over." It must be tough locked away inside the arcade with East 4th right there. It's be nice if the owners could move some more businesses in there to increase foot traffic. Anyways, if you are hungry but not hungry, they're a cheap good meal for dinner and you more than likely won't have to wait.

For Gina's birthday, I bought her, Kerry, and myself tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at the Q. They were super... SUPER excited to go and loved every second of the show. Before the show, I knew that Fleetwood Mac existed but didn't really know who they were, any of their crazy rock and roll stories, or a lot of their catalog. It's not that I didn't like them, I just wasn't exposed to them a lot. Even if I was, I wasn't really even sure it was them? After the concert was over, I realized that this point of view was easier than it looks for a guy in my situation, especially with my upbringing. 

1) Being from Louisville, where the late 60's and early 70's were and are still the most popular time frames of life, many of us after high school... oh let's call us hipsters but it's really like being a dwarf among midgets since we're not much better (me included)... embraced 90's grunge and whatever came after that... Bare Naked Ladies and the death nail of rock I guess... and tried not to look back. It was that or continue to live in the Led Zeppelin, Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused, Varsity Blues, Uncle Rico world that was constantly pulling us into it's black hole until we would eventually wake up the next day in our AC/DC concert t-shirt and black cut-off jean shorts like we fell asleep next to a pod in Invasion of the Body Snatchers... for douche bags. Anyways, Fleetwood Mac fell into that Eagles, Chicago, Steve Miller Band group...they weren't hard enough to rock to and unless you're parents were into them, you kinda missed that pop/middle of the road listening boat. Remember, radio and MTV told us what to listen to back then before Spotify/XM/Pandora/iTunes. That's why my generation knows about Savage Garden and not the New York Dolls. For the record I know neither... I wanna stand with you on a mountain... aw damnitt!

2) Everyone from the band sings and some even had solo careers. Axl Rose sings the songs for Guns and Roses. Kurt Cobain sang the songs for Nirvana. James Hetfield sings the songs for Metallica. A song by any of these bands comes on the radio and you know who it is. This is not the case for Fleetwood Mac. Not only does everyone sing but they each have sang classic songs in the band's catalog. Oh and some of them have had successful solo careers so it could be Stevie Nicks without the rest of the band. Confusing, if you're not familiar with what the heck's going on like me. I was shocked with the amount of songs I knew... I actually recognized about 75% of their set. Of those I related about 3 songs to the band. The rest existed in trips to Belden Village in mom's car before I was allowed to change the channel to 107.9, commercials, and movie soundtracks. Most of the mall trip songs were sung by Christine McVie surprisingly... I mean that I recognized from their set. Of all the songs I ever heard on those trips it was a tie between Fine Young Cannibals and Elton John.

3) The Beatles and Led Zeppelin... I know little about most old bands because I know so God Damn much about the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Enough already. We can all agree they were great and should never mention it again. We don't wake up every morning and say "Holy shit look how green the grass is!"... well also because we live in Ohio... which is why I couldn't in all good faith use "blue the sky is". Oh I got it! We don't all wake up every morning and say "Holy shit look how grey the sky is!" Right?!? With that being said, we can all now move on to bands that they have influenced over the years... for instance... all of the bands that came after them.

All-in-all the concert was great! They sounded like they used to, all the band members were present, and I had a great time singing along to songs I knew but didn't know were from them. Plus I always love it when Gina looks over at me every 5 minutes and says how awesome something is! Usually the awesome thing is over before 5 minutes so I finally get to hear her sing my praises! Happy Birthday honey. I love you even though you're 10 years older than my preferred age range for lovers :) Just kidding of course... it's more like 15 years and I love you to the moon and back!



Go eat at a church fish fry this lent even if you aren't in a religion that believes in the holiness of not eating meat/eating fish on Friday's for a span of 40 days in the winter/early spring. It gives you that weird old world experience that your grandparents told to you about before there was McDonald's and their 2 filet of fish for $2 deal. Get back to your roots America! You can also get this experience at fun old establishments like we did at Prosperity Social Club. Don't do it without reservations though! In these old ethnic neighborhood this kinda stuff is still as popular as ever especially when the food is as good as it is here. I promise I won't tell your God or Goddess of choice that you went.



By the time this posts, I'll be 35... ::sigh:: I'm now at the upper bound of that age range that is currently changing the world. As Millennials move to urban cores and downtown's across America, leave their cars behind for bikes and the joy of a good walk, and demand a unique experience that you can't fulfill with a brand name... I can now only say that I have one more good year to do something memorable before I fall into the group who's future becomes entrenched in the suburban life of kids and dogs, green yards and good schools, and Applebee's date nights once a month. I certainly can see myself doing some of that and enjoying it at the same time but I see it all on my own terms. My terms are a hard sell though and my selfish nature demands that if I have to fit a mold, I'm going to bend it a bit to fit me. I can't say that this past year living in Tremont has been good for my outlook on life outside of this city. It actually makes me want to live where the pin on Google Maps lands when you search for Cleveland, Ohio. I want that to be where I am. So close that when you look it up on a map, my face shows up on the little man you drop in to get to street view... but I'm 35 now. That leaves me 1 more year to "grow up" and leave the revolution of the young behind. I unfortunately don't have anyone to pass the torch to or a monument erected in memory to my small piece of the fight. I only know that after I leave this city, one second of the number of years it continues to progress in it's current direction before falling again is thanks to me and the time I lived here. My blog, purchases, taxes, patronage, and constant cheer leading is the equivalent to 1 second of time that this city thrives without me. I made that happen.

Although my life will be for sure filled with happiness and joy, I am a man who found his passion too late in life to be able to properly enjoy it... and for that I will remain a drop emptier and forever regretful. Sleep on that Clevelanders as time slowly tics away... love ya!




Leave me your thoughts
on any of this
in the Comments Section below.


Get my blog posts sent right to you!
Put your e-mail address under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL
on the right menu and click Submit.


LikeShareStar, and +1 the blog on Social Media by clicking either the Buttons below after Posted by or the Icons below the comments at the bottom of the screen.