Traveling Fool

Last week was a pretty rough week if you have your heart in Cleveland with the deaths of Cleveland icons Michael Stanley and Joe Tait. It was a one-two punch to the gut. Michael Stanley was the soundtrack to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, certainly for people of my generation. I wasn't the concert goer I am now, and never went to any of the Michael Stanley Band concerts and I had moved by the time Stanley evolved his sound and band lineup, but every time I drive home, I play "My Town" loud as drive through downtown Cleveland. It gives me chills every single time. There have been so many tributes to Michael Stanley, I couldn't possibly do justice, I just wanted to say to all of them: ditto, me too. Joe Tait was the voice for Cleveland Indians baseball for many years as I was growing up, and the voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers for more years than that. Of course those were the years when the teams and the city were the butts of jokes, but my dad listened regardless. I r...

I went home recently to The Land, the 216 or, as I like to call it, Cleveland, to see family and catch some All Star fever. Sadly, I didn't have tickets to any of the actual competitions (one brother did go to the Home Run Derby), but I did go to the activities at the Convention Center, and it was terrific. I think the whole block around the Convention Center was blocked off to traffic, which was nice, and there were a lot of free things to do outside, and a ticket was required to go inside (vendors, autographs, exhibits). The weather was gorgeous, the city looked fabulous and people seemed to be having a lot of fun. It was so cool to see people from all over the country enjoying my hometown. Rock and Roll and baseball - Fender guitars and bats representing all the teams. He's a goofball, but he's mine. Equal time for my home teams - Twins and Indians   Negro Leagues Exhibit   Got to meet some of these ladies ...

My brother and I finally made it to A Christmas Story House in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. It's something we've talked about for a few years, and now that he has Zelda (his beloved Jeep), we did it. Please tell me you have seen, or are at least familiar with, the holiday classic movie, A Christmas Story , although my brother has not. The house, museum and gift shop are all within a few yards of each other in a residential neighborhood, old style, not those new housing developments with homes that all look the same. You buy your tickets in the gift shop and tours leave from there at quarter past the hour. The house is set up like in the movie, with Ralphie's Little Orphan Annie decoding ring in the bathroom; the Red Ryder BB Gun by the fireplace; and of course, the Old Man's Major Award, the Leg Lamp. The guide is there to provide information on the house, the exhibits and the movie, but you are free to wander about as you choose and take photos. I think w...

Did you know that Superman is really a Cleveland native? Born of the imaginations of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two kids from Cleveland, an incredible collection of Superman memorabilia has been on display at the downtown location of Cleveland Public Library. Most of the collection is courtesy of Mike Curtis, who donated his collection to CPL in 2016. I'm a little late to this party since the exhibit has been up since May 2017 and is coming down at the end of March 2018. The exhibit is free and is on three floors, which kind of gets you moving around this beautiful building. There are costumes, signed photographs, comics, Jerry Siegel's typewriter, and from all eras of Superman, George Reeves to Christopher Reeve to Henry Cavill. If you only have time for one floor, the first definitely has the gems. So glad I forced myself away from the Law and Order marathon on television. A few years ago, I went to Glenville, where Siegel and Shuster grew up. I don'...