Hanging with Rich

Stories About My Old Cars..... My wife's car is in the shop - again. Like a lot of the cars I've had, when it was new, I loved it and it ran great. Now, not so much. It's a Mazda CX-7, an SUV. When we first got it, it didn't run like an SUV. It's a fuel injected - premium gas burning number with plenty of pep. But when it breaks down, bring your credit cards. All of them. That got me thinking about some of the cars I've used through the years. Some were fun. Some were not. But there's always a story. Buick Wildcat: the blanket was optional. The first car I drove was a 1965 Buick Wildcat. Midnight blue. I sort of inherited this car from my parents after they were basically done with it. Kids, this car had seat belts, but no shoulder harness. Electronics in cars also had not been invented yet, so it usually ran rough. But one interesting thing about it was that the heater didn't work. But I did keep a scratchy old army blanket handy. I would tell t

The Real Value of Shopping Online..... The blog today is a little shorter. Who's got the time this week? That's sort of what this is about today. Time. Nothing like traffic during the holidays. Earlier this week I had to go shopping at a mall for a couple of specific items. I went when afternoon turned into evening. Big mistake. Traffic was horrendous. There was a traffic jam even to get on the freeway. I decided to take the side roads. A slow approach, but I kept moving most of the time. When I got to the mall I had to find a place to park. More fun. Up one row and down the next. I finally found a spot, but of course it was nowhere near an entrance. Train kept a-rollin' - All night long. Once in the actual mall I was greeted by obstacles in the aisles and shoppers of all types. Now for 11 months of the year, nobody really cares to shop at this mall. It's so empty, there's a train ride for kids that never even has to blow it's whistle. But not that

The Pizza Awards ..... The holidays mean parties, and parties usually means pizza. Most everybody likes pizza, and everybody has an opinion to share on the subject. So I decided I would share my thoughts on this important topic. First though, remember I live in northeast Ohio. Depending on where you're reading this, you may have your own favorites. I am always shocked to find out where this blog is read. Apparently, I'm a popular guy in Russia. Maybe those guys enjoy washing their pizza down with vodka. Me, I'll enjoy a beer with my pie. Or even pop. But definitely not coffee. But let's get to the main event. Here are some special awards for pizzas that I've found memorable. You can't go wrong with a Stancato's sheet. Best Sheet Pizza - Stancato's, Parma, Oh .: I don't often get a regular pizza from Stancato's. It's a good restaurant, and they have a great brunch. But when there's a big party at my house, a Stancato's shee

Why Have Mass-Murders Become So Common?..... Sorry, folks. No Christmas songs or movies this week. Actually I wish I could talk about my favorite Christmas cookies, or presents. Anything but this. But this is on my mind. As we all struggle to consider what just happened in San Bernadino, California. What has changed in our world and our society, that makes these incidents so horrific, yet so common. A few weeks ago, the murders in Paris grabbed our attention. Now this one. Unfortunately, would any of us be surprised if there is another senseless attack before Christmas? Let's take a moment to examine where we, the human race, are right now: 2015, on the cusp of another year. Has something changed in our society, or not? Here are some things to consider: Are handguns too easy to get? This is the first thing that's mentioned when insane incidents happen. From school shootings in Chardon, Ohio, to the crazy guy in the theater in Colorado, easy access to guns and copio

My Favorite Christmas Movies..... Regular readers knew that this was coming Last week I made a list of my favorite Christmas songs, and now the movies. I think a good Christmas movie is hard to make. I don't think there's a simple formula for making a successful Christmas movie. Mix in some family values, some Christmas legends, and some colorful characters, and it should work. Right? Not so fast. Take How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The older animated version of the Dr. Seuss classic I love. The newer Ron Howard directed version with Jim Carey leaves me cold. Same story. Great director. Trying to make a live action movie look animated sorta defeats the purpose. It certainly doesn't touch my heart. So with no real criteria, Here's my Top 9 Christmas Movies . (Why 9? Because 10,11,12 are all about the same. So I got 9.: 9.  Joyeux Noel -  This movie is supposedly about a real event that happened during World War I.  On Christmas Eve the German and Allied troops s

My Favorite Christmas Songs.... . The arrival of Thanksgiving this week marks the beginning of the traditional Christmas season for most people. I'm a little ahead of the game this year. Most of my outdoor holiday lights are up, and I even got a artificial Christmas tree. But don't worry folks. This is to be a supplemental tree for my family room. The Grand live tree (formerly), will arrive later in December with much effort and probably arguing. Soon almost every radio station will be playing Christmas songs all day and night. Unfortunately, we will all be sick of hearing them long before Christmas week arrives. Also every television network will be playing Christmas movies and specials. I might write a blog about the movies, but not today. Today is about my 5 favorite Christmas songs. To me, a good song, Christmas or otherwise, evokes a feeling about someone, some place, somewhere, or some story. These songs do that for me. Before I begin this list, I have two disclaime

Thanksgiving - Man Do We Need It..... All you have to do is visit a store these days, and you realize the holiday season has arrived. I actually saw a Christmas display in a store before Halloween. That's crazy. But now the leaves are off the trees and my back yard looks like crap. In my part of the world, that means get ready for about 5 months of misery. At least we have the holidays. Love old school Norman Rockwell paintings. Thanksgiving is first up, and it's certainly in my top 2 favorite holidays. All you have to do is run around, clean the house, get and prepare the food. You don't have to shop for presents. At least I don't remember ever getting a Thanksgiving present. There also seems to be less pressure than with Christmas. People worry too much about the perfect present, wrapping, and hurting somebody's feelings if you don't send a "heartwarming" Christmas card. To me, Thanksgiving is about one thing - family . There is nothing mor

I'm a Proud Member of Wine and Gold United..... As long as I can remember I've been a fan of the local sports teams here in Cleveland. Actually one of my earliest memories is walking into old Cleveland Municipal Stadium for an Indians game. I can remember walking through a cold urban landscape, and into the old dusty and cavernous stadium. I remember walking through the dark bowels of that place, taking in all the sights, sounds, and of course smells. Then you walk up a ramp and a beautiful green and sunny playing field unfolds. There's your childhood hero's warming up. It's a little magical. I've enjoyed almost all the venues my teams have played at. The Cavs first home was the old Cleveland Arena. This was a rundown place that even used chicken wire in place of plexiglass for hockey games. But if you wanted to watch Wilt Chamberlain, or a young Austin Carr that's where you went. That was replaced with the Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. It was in the midd

A List of My Favorite Toys..... I open my Sunday Plain Dealer today and what falls out, a huge holiday toy catalog from Target and one from Toys R Us too. I guess nothing gets you in the mood for holiday shopping like eating leftover Halloween candy. But it got me thinking about toys. Since a reader challenged me to write about it, here it is. One problem I had with writing this is the definition of what is a toy. In the end, I decided if I had fun with it as a kid; it's a toy. Besides, it's my blog. One thing you won't find on the list are video games. I guess I'm too old. Obviously, I have played them and enjoy them. Two of my older favorites include Leisure Suit Larry and Crazy Taxi. I found games where you try to improve your high score but loose in the end, sort of frustrating. I mean those Space Invaders can't be beat. So here we go (in reverse order to build suspense). Built with an Erector Set. Why it's a,a,,,,, you know. 10. Erector Sets: A

Let's Go Cavs..... 1964 NFL Champs. So long ago black and white photos were popular. On December 27, 1964 the Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship. I was just a kid. A very young kid at that. The game was blacked out on TV in Cleveland, but I do remember not being more than 3 feet away from the radio. I'm sure I had some game materials in front of me while I listened. But I didn't need a roster. I had it memorized. (Still do.) I followed the Browns closely that season, and when they won it all I was extremely excited and proud. It was exhilarating for the entire area. Books were written about it, legends were made, and memories to last a lifetime. It stands as the last major sports championship in my home town. There have been plenty of near misses. The 97 Indians lost the lead in the 9th inning of the 7th game of the World Series. That one still hurts. I really believe the Indians were supposed to win that. There's no way the mojo of the universe should ha