Hanging with Rich

My 5 Coolest Happenings of 2016..... Another year has come and gone. 2016 was a stunning year, both nationally and locally. Championships, Conventions, and Elections, But how many of the items actually impacted me directly? There are national headlines every day that we have a conversation about. But what did I actually  participate in that I really enjoyed? Looking back, I didn't get a chance to go on any big trips this year like others. But that doesn't mean I didn't have fun. There were some things I'll never forget. So here is a list of some of the things I really enjoyed in 2016. 5. The Revitalization of the Flat s: This isn't one event, but an area that I enjoyed many times in 2016. Back in the 80's the Cleveland Flats were a collection of sketchy bars along the The Flats are a happening place again. Cuyahoga River. They were popular for a while. But they were dirty, unsafe, and closed after a period. Recently, they have been rebuilt and are n

Old Christmas Photographs.....   I love to look at old pictures. They are a time capsule of a memory. An instant look at a moment in time. A time long ago in a place far away. Old Christmas pictures are especially great to look at. When you look at them you can instantly remember details or an incident that you may not have even thought of for years and years. But they can be sad too. Unfortunately many of the people in the oldest pictures have people and relatives that are no longer with us. Not the 3 Wise Men - just my kids a long time ago. But in a Christmas picture most everybody is happy. The decorations are everywhere. People used to dress up. The memories seem to be flooding back as I write this. I think today people take millions of pictures everyday,  Everybody carries a cameraphone in their pocket. People share them on social media, but they're never printed up. Back in the day, people used actual cameras - with something called film. You would take a picture, t

Hanging With The Cleveland Orchestra..... This weekend was a treat for me as far as watching excellence. On Saturday night I got to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lebron James perform like few players can. He scored 44 points, dominated the game, and scored whenever it was needed. He is one of the greatest in the history of his sport. It is a treat to watch him perform live. But how did Lebron get so good? Because of talent, practice, and dedication. Severance Hall - Home of the Cleveland Orchestra. On Sunday I was privileged to watch and listen to the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra perform a holiday concert. The music was familiar, but the sound was stunning. I had never before seen the Cleveland Orchestra perform at Severance Hall. The music felt like a wave. Gentle at times, powerful at others. But this group of world class musicians performed as one for an amazing result. But how did this group of musicians get so good? Like Lebron, because of talent, practice, and d

5 Coolest Christmas Gifts of 2016..... I used to hate shopping for Christmas gifts. The shopping malls that time of year are usually ground zero for misery. Traffic is bad. You spend a helluva lot of time just trying to park. The stores are packed, and if you find something to buy, you get to stand in a long line. But much of that changed for me a few years ago. I do most of my shopping online. You can find most anything online. Shop, do research, even read what other shoppers thought about the product. Amazon is my favorite store. I recently watched a video of the inside of a Amazon fulfillment center. There were robots whizzing around and lots of automation. They say your product is ready for shipping only a matter of minutes after you make the click on your computer. But the biggest question remains of what gift to buy. Nice clothes are a OK gift, but boring. Gift cards are practical, but not much thought goes into it. Personally, I like gag gifts too. What's better than

OH - IO..... Oh. We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan. We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan 'cuz we're from O-HI-O ! The rivalry between The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan goes well beyond football. It goes well beyond sports. It goes way beyond a college rivalry. This rivalry is not only the greatest in college football, it may be the greatest in sports! But how did that happen? Why do otherwise normal people get involved when this game is played? Could more than football be involved? It could be that a little known armed conflict between Ohio and Michigan are the genesis of the rivalry. Back in 1835 there was a dispute between the two states about the border that led to the Toledo War. Both sides claimed sovereignty over an area known as the Toledo Strip. The States raised militias and sent them to the banks of the Maumee Riv

Things I'm Thankful For..... But there's plenty of leftovers. Good God almighty it's the holiday season again. While this Thursday marks the official beginning to the season, I've seen some stores preparing since Halloween. That's crazy. Who needs Christmas ornaments on Halloween? Everybody just chill on that stuff. I'll probably put up my outdoor house decorations soon, including my colorful laser beams! But before everybody goes nuts for Christmas, it's Thanksgiving this week. To me, that's a holiday to slow down and, as the name says, - give thanks. Yes, you have to get a big meal together. Yes, you probably have to clean the house. But other than that, it's a day to relax and have fun with family and friends. Asinine stores such as Walmart and Target require their employees to come into work. But that's another topic. Thanksgiving always makes me pause and take an inventory of some things I'm thankful for in my life. So here'

Welcome To the New World, Or Is It?..... The results of the election surprised me. But I've been wrong before. America seems divided. But it's been divided before, and survived. Time Magazine from 1972. Or is it from 2016? Take a quick time trip with me to the election of 1972. To say America was divided is an understatement. The Vietnam War and the accompanying social revolution had driven a wall between a younger generation and "the establishment". These were not good times for America. Leading up to the election was the Tet offensive in 1968 that signalled our military policy in Vietnam was flawed. The war was televised every night on the nightly news. Then there was the murders of MLK and RFK. The "secret" bombing of Cambodia in 1969. The Kent State massacre was in 1970. There were rumblings about political dirty tricks in Washington at the Watergate complex. All this was the backdrop to the Presidential election in 1972 that had the incumben

The 3 Worst Things a President Ever Did.... . Tuesday is Election Day in our country. A process that goes back hundreds of years will repeat itself. There will be a peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another. Every President can say he won an election. Well, sort of. I think a group of guys asked George Washington if he wanted the job. Also, Gerald Ford was appointed Vice President and then Richard Nixon resigned. So Ford became President without anyone voting for him for President, or Vice President. But come January a new President will be sworn in to protect and defend the United States of America. So help me God. The thing is, whoever is sworn in will be quite different than previous Presidents. It could be a woman that nobody trusts. Or it could be a non-deep thinking bigot that never held political office. Quite a choice. Most people, like me, will be holding their noses when they go to vote. Nobody is sure what to expect. Maybe they'll be so great

Believeland..... In 1952 Norman Vincent Peale wrote a self-help book called The Power of Positive Thinking . It was a best seller and a sensation of those times. The book encourages it's readers to keep a positive and I like this guy already! optimistic attitude. If you kept your mind clear with optimism and positivity, good things would happen. In today's era, people like Brian Tracy have made a good living as an author and motivational speaker with the same type of message. Maybe people in Cleveland have picked up a copy of this book. Optimism is rampant. But it didn't used to be that way. There was a time when the sports fans of this town expected the worst. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop. They had been disappointed and frustrated so many times, we felt this was the norm. Amazing things would happen to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A fumble, a buzzer beater, an unusual injury. I'm not making this stuff up! The worst part of it was t

The Importance of Teamwork - In Sports and Business..... Watching the baseball playoffs has been an enjoyable and eye-opening experience. You get to see some fantastic players perform in the spotlight. Some shine, and some shrink. People react differently to pressure. Yet, those that are able to keep their wits about them can help in so many ways. That's true in sports and business. There is no "I" in team. Players in professional sports are considered the best of the best. Most are well paid. You can go to the best restaurants. You can drive a Bentley. But you can't buy a championship. That's the one thing that is the separator among players. So when playoff time comes - all their skills are on display. In baseball, even a .300 hitter will fail 7 out of 10 times. But a good player can contribute to the win even without getting a hit. An excellent example of this was evident in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series between the Indians and the

Taking Our Bodies for Granted..... We take so many things for granted in our lives that when something happens to change our daily routine, we are stunned by the changes and adjustments. I've gotten a front row seat to this experience this week. My wife is a very active person. She normally works 12 hour shifts as a nurse at a hospital. Except when she works overtime to bring in some extra cash. She shows up for work about an hour early so she can go to the gym and get some treadmill time. At home she's usually running around cooking or cleaning. I always think she should relax more. That's my speciality. But that all changed about a year ago. She was running through an airport when she suffered a knee injury. Since then she has been living, and working, in constant pain. Doctors visits revealed that while the knee was still structurally sound, she had severe arthritis and was now walking bone on bone. The solution: a total knee replacement. Maybe it'll be a c

My 5 Favorite Presidents, and Why I Admire Them ..... In about a month, most of us will be doing our American duty. We will be voting for a new President to lead our nation. It is a duty, and a right that others have literally died for to defend. Many people today take that right for granted and even abuse it. They generalize by saying, "My vote doesn't count". What disturbs me is that this apathetic attitude is especially true among young people. Many I know are not even registered to vote. I wish I knew why. When I was young you had to be 21 to vote, but you could be drafted into the Army at 18. People saw the hypocrisy of that and the voting age was changed to 18 by the Twenty-Sixth Constitutional Amendment.  I remember my first vote like it was yesterday. It was the election of 1972. The incumbent President Richard Nixon was running for re-election against the Democrat, Senator George McGovern. He was an anti-war candidate and the Vietnam War was was literally

Man, Do We Need To Lol These Days..... I hate to turn on the news these days. It's just been one miserable thing after another. In case you missed it, here's a recap of recent events: A terrorist's bombs explode in New York and New Jersey. No one is killed, but it still has the desired effect. A police shooting in Charlotte, NC. causes more civil unrest. More questions. More rage. Some guy indiscriminately shoots and kills 5 people in a mall in Washington state. All this is going on during a Presidential campaign that has such unpopular candidates, it makes me wish Abe Lincoln would come back as a zombie and run as a 3rd party candidate. There's only so much misery you can take. Maybe it's important for our sanity to take a laugh break. Not just smile. Not just chuckle. But laugh. Laugh out loud! Even lmao if you can. But do we make room for comedy in our daily lives like we religiously watch the miserable news? There are plenty of ways to relax. Plenty

National Anthem Protests Are Misguided..... Recently, some professional athletes have been doing a silent protest during the playing of the National Anthem before games. This trend seems to have been started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He has decided to take a knee or sit during the playing of the Anthem. He has stated he refuses to stand and show respect to a nation that oppresses black people and people of color. Kaepernick (with the hair) kneeling for the National Anthem. This type of protest seems to be spreading in the National Football League to other teams. One head coach has even said he would join in as long as the whole team is down with it. The impetus for this protest seems to stem from the black lives matter movement. The players are willing to use the National Anthem as the opportunity to show displeasure with the present situation in America. But the National Anthem goes a little further back. Miami Dolphins protest. The National Anthem has bee

My Memories of 9/11..... It seems whenever something horrible nationally happens, peoples memories go into overdrive. I was a very young kid but I remember the events of the day JFK was shot. I wasn't born when Pearl Harbor was attacked, but I'm sure older folks can remember that day vividly. 9/11 2001 was one of those days. Everything changed after that. And not for the better. Things have changed so much that sometimes it hard to remember what life was like on September 10th, 2001. Well kids, there was a time when you didn't have to take off your shoes to get on a plane. In fact, you could actually walk down an airport concourse to meet and greet relatives leaving or arriving at the gate. No Homeland Security. Going on a plane trip was thought of as fun. Berlin Wall falls in 1989. End of the Evil Empire? The Soviet Union had fallen in 1991. Our country had no evil empire to fight. No shooting wars. Gulf War I lasted a few weeks in 1991. It was so successful it c