BS: Cleveland survives the RNC

Subject: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: CupOfTea
Date: 23 Jul 16 - 10:48 PM

It's all over 'crept for the clean up, and other than the worst, but inevitable, fear being realized - the nomination of the (really nasty name expunged) dude - all went well. Since our Powers-that-be at work eventually decided to give us all the week of the convention off, I didn't have to go anywhere near the place, and missed seeing firsthand that the police were polite and helpful, the protestors never got wicked nasty ( though some of the signs I saw in TV coverage were pretty revolting.) and the city looked great! All the possible nasty scenarios that Cleveland policemen who work downtown with us were predicting ... It just didn't happen.

Several friends got stupid large chunks of money for renting their houses for the duration. There are a good number of civic improvements that will continue to grace the town in the wake of this event.

Yeah, there were some logistics to getting around, one side of town to the other, with road closures, but they were well advertised in advance, no surprises. The parade for the Cavaliers a couple weeks back did more damage with over ambitious fans climbing things that shouldn't be climbed, and required more street cleanup.

It is such a relief to have Cleveland come out of this looking like a great city. Shame about the nominee, but we can't be held responsible for that. Perhaps now we can stop being a put-down punchline town for every comic. We, the city, made no mistakes.

Alleluia. Amen.

Joanne in a spiffed up, urbane trendy world class Cleveland

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 01:57 AM

Thanks for that, Joanne! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post.

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 10:52 AM

I have it on good authority that the other twenty-five or so Clevelands spread throughout the United States pulled through as well.

There was a minor incident in Cleveland, Arkansas (population 76), caused by a 1997 Ford Mustang full of celebrating Trump supporters, two quart Mason jars of locally produced moonshine whiskey, and a bagful of leftover Independence Day fireworks. The volunteer fire department was able to get the fire under control pretty quickly and the ER docs were able to reattach Bobby Earl Kitchen's right pinkie finger.

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Janie
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 11:40 AM

What michaelr said!

And BWL - spitting coffee on my keyboard!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: mkebenn
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 02:28 PM

Joanne, congrats to you and the Cavs, and Cleveland, of course, from an empathetic poster in Buffalo. If it couldn't be us, you better than anyone else(and we lost the Braves YEARS ago) Mike

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 04:02 PM

How are the fireflies this summer, Joanne. I remember driving along the lakeshore in Lorain several years ago, trying to get a good camera shot of Lorain's beautiful lighthouse. The lakeshore reminded me of back home in Wisconsin - balmy summer nights sparkling with fireflies.

I was born in Detroit, so I was raised with a bit of disdain for our competitor city, Cleveland - until I first visited when I was best man for a wedding there when I was 21. I've been to Cleveland a few times since, and I've come to really like it.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: robomatic
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 04:27 PM

Lovely post, CoT. When young I lived near Cincinnati "Hats Off to the Big Queen City" and observed Hinckley Buzzard Day. I never attended, though. There was a Cleveland radio station that put together a wonderful treatment of it including a love song: "When the Buzzards Come Back"

When older my association with Cleveland was through Randy Newman's Song "Burn On" (Big River).

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: mkebenn
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 04:58 PM

Robomatic, if you haven't seen Erie in awhile you'd be amazed at the water clarity, due to an invasive mussel though it be. Mike

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Jul 16 - 05:33 PM

Yes, I can imagine the Cavaliers occasion being downright hazardous, sports fans being what they are. Shame about former coach Blatt, seems like it was a poor fit from the beginning.

Going on from fireflies: did the cicadas come out this summer?

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: CupOfTea
Date: 31 Jul 16 - 04:07 PM

Reading the thread on Cicadas made me realize my response to Keberoxu and Joe about the summer bugs in Cleveland somehow never got posted back then. I was likely more poetic when I wrote that, but...

Yes, we have fireflies around here. I was surprised one night to have one flitting around in my bedroom blinking away. I'm used to the various electronic things with lights that stay on, but those manage to stay put.

We never got the cicadas in in the northern part of the area. Where they got hit HARD was down in the Cuyahoga Valley. I was at Hale Farm for Music in the Valley earlier this month, and had a 10 mile detour farther south than I wanted to go with two exits blocked on 271, and so got to see a large section of cicada damage to a shocking number of trees. There were whole sections where the tip of EVERY branch on whole trees were red-brown bunches of dead leaves, like malevolent blossoms. The second day, I took an alternate route and saw more damage all through to Route 8. At Hale farm, you could see the ground around the base of trees pockmarked with holes.

I do not remember this tree damage being the case in previous waves, where earlier memories were of large numbers of crunchy shells on the ground when I was in the Valley earlier in the cicada cycle. It is possible that the tree tip damage is the cicadas' work intensified by the drought. We are losing trees in great numbers. The leaves on the tree turn that red brown in a matter of a couple weeks, and the tree is dead. A city used to being damp and green looks like non-irrigated California. Lawns are golden straw, with a surreal crop of Queen Anne's Lace shooting up all over. Everywhere I look there are more trees in full leaf turned brown.

A friend remarked that it's not just that we've had a dry spring, but we had an unusually small amount of snow this year, so the saturation that trees usually get didn't happen. I'm watering my huge oak tree that is in great distress, with many bare branches. So far it's stayed green, where there are leaves, but I'm praying. Hard.

On the plus side of nature - my combination of two deterrent substances has kept deer from eating ALL of my daylilies! First flowers I've had in about 7 years! Those remembering the river fire - the best remnant of that is "Burning River Pale Ale" from Great Lakes Brewery -if you like IPAs, as I do. The River has come a long way & this winter Folknet put on a benefit for the Cuyahoaga River Restoration group, with the songs of Pete Seeger. At least 20+ years ago, when Pete played a festival in the Cuyahoaga Valley, I drove him around and learned he was college friends with Congresman Siberling, who was going to take him canoeing on the upper Cuyahoga after the fest. The upper river was decent even then.

On the plus side of post RNC urban area - the bicycles bought for police are being used in patrols regularly. There are some incredibly pretty plantings of blooms that are being kept up along 9th street. The Flats area (where the infamous fire happened) is having yet another resurgence in popularity with new housing and concert venues populating that area. Now if we just had a dramatic increase in employment and wage levels...

Joanne in Cleveland, drinking LOTS of iced tea

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: keberoxu
Date: 31 Jul 16 - 07:37 PM

Thanks, Joanne, for the cicada update. Maybe not all the trees will die....the branch might die but the tree go on living?

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Rapparee
Date: 31 Jul 16 - 09:47 PM

Joanne, as you might know, I worked in Burton for a dozen years and lived just south of Kent (yes, the commute was a pain in the winter!). In fact, I went to CWRU for my master's. I was there when Ralphy set his hair on fire...and I know Cleveland has changed for the better.

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Aug 16 - 12:38 PM

Thread drift, Joanne, but I'll post it anyway.

Fireflies:
"the organic lanterns afloat on the currents of evening."

from the nonfiction writing of Edward Abbey, first published in 1954. Don't know the name of the particular essay.

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Aug 16 - 04:12 PM

The preceding quote can be found in the nonfiction essay "Sierra Madre."
This is published in: The Best of Edward Abbey; Abbey's Road; Slumgullion Stew.

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Aug 16 - 11:56 AM

It's interesting that illegal alien mussels cleaned up the water in Lake Erie but at what cost. Do the real American fish still have oxygen and jobs?

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Aug 16 - 12:11 PM

Trump was a god damn American HERO at the convention

Face it he is a HUGE HERO.

BIGGER than John Brown, Huger than Lincoln, smarter than Jefferson.


Trump has sacrificed !       SACRIFICED BIG

In his own inimical way, Donald is UNITING America ,

one filthy hating bitch slapping comment at a time.

Until such time he has united the ENTIRE country against every damn thing he claimed he was for.


That's not hubris, that is patriotic and brave to attract so much ridicule so America can learn its lesson once and for all


He is willing to lose the Presidency for the good of America.




NOW THAT I CALL A SACRIFICE !












or BS

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: CupOfTea
Date: 04 Aug 16 - 02:13 PM

Well it IS the BS section.

Post RNC I found a wonderful app for my iPad that gives me access to a huge backlog of CBC broadcasts. I'd been bummed since the local NPR station stopped airing "As it Happens" which I had been avidly listening to for years. My delight was substantial when I found, beyond that one beloved show, that Michael Enright's contributions were in other places as well!

He was in Cleveland, covering the RNC, but also exploring Cleveland way outside the convention. Hearing that lovely, intelligent, man's interviews and reactions to my home place was gratifying. Wish I could have shown him some Cleveland quirky Heights. Delving further in CBC archived shows was fascinating, and hearing educated Canadian views of American politics & the included characters had me saying Yes!! And Amen!! Multiple times. I'm hooked. there is music there. Vinyl Cafe has been a superior version of a story-and-music show than Prairie Home Companion for years. I am closer to Canada than most of the US, physically, (and likely emotionally as well).

One striking bit of political coverage was a description of racist , bigoted, nasty stances taken by a presidential nominee- the stuff we've been hearing spewed at close hand lately. What was surprising was it was a description of the candidacy of George Wallace, in the 60s. What a difference the media climate makes! Fascinating stuff.

Viva la CBC!
From the other side of Lake Erie,
Joanne

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Aug 16 - 01:46 PM

It is wonderful when journalism (all kinds) does its job


I remember when 90% of the fifth column abdicated their duty when W. started the Iraq war.

Long live the CBC

Subject: RE: BS: Cleveland survives the RNC
From: Rapparee
Date: 05 Aug 16 - 08:33 PM

Cleveland is the one which has sacrificed, hosting The Donnie.