Hanging with Rich

Easter Traditions - Old and New..... I woke up this morning and was delighted to see it was a bright and sunny day. Just the way Easter should be. Easter is a great holiday. Obviously, it has significant religious meanings. But it also comes right at the start of spring. It signals a rebirth and renewal, of everything. Happy Easter, everybody! Easter brings it's own set of traditions. Maybe not as many as Christmas, but plenty nonetheless. The obvious ones are colored Easter eggs, Easter baskets, jelly beans, and candy. But there are many traditions, maybe hundreds of years old that are still used. My wife's family is Eastern European, (Slovak). They have a number of traditions for every holiday. My wife makes sure these traditions are upheld. Even her family occasionally refers to her as the "Slovak Ambassador". But it's important. While it seems like yesterday we were kids, we are fast becoming  "elder statesman" responsible for keeping some...

Natural Wonders or Man Made Wonders: What's Your Choice?..... The phone rang at about 5:30 in the morning. "Dadeo, we landed. Can you come pick us up?" It was my daughter. She and my wife had flown home on a red-eye flight back from Las Vegas. But the airport was about all they saw of Las Vegas. They rented a car and drove to visit the natural wonders of the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park in Utah. So they went from maybe the ultimate man made curiosity, to Mother Nature's curiosities. The Grand Canyon. What else can you say? It got me thinking. Some people are more interested in man made attractions like Vegas, others prefer the beauty of natural wonders. I suppose there's room for both. On the man made side we've got things like the Eiffel Tower, Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Roman Coliseum, Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas strip, and all that stuff in Abu Dhabi. You also could include the whole world of art. These are all credits to the crea...

People I Wish Were Running for President..... Politics really isn't my thing. I'm interested in the issues. But that doesn't seem to be what politics are about these days. At it's best, politics is messy. At it's worst, - well you see what we've got this year. One candidate is a bigoted mess, that seems to thrive on dividing the nation, and encourages violence. The other candidate seems to have honesty issues, along with not knowing when to do the right thing. But this is what we have this year. In January, 2017, a real doozy will be holding the most powerful and influential office on this planet. It has left me dreaming. Of something better. Not that there's much at stake here. I don't know if national politics was ever an honest pursuit. But it used to attract the best and the brightest. Educated people with a plan, and an honest desire to serve the people. Is this the best we can do? Here's a list of people who I wish were running for ...

The Miracle of Richfield - 40 Years Later..... If you're not of a certain age, or not from Northeast Ohio, you have no idea what this is about. The Miracle of Richfield is not like a real miracle, like the Miracle of Fatima, or something like that. This was a regional happening that reverberates in this area even today. It's a miracle involving our local NBA team. Technically, they didn't win the championship. Not even close really. But here's the funny thing. That team couldn't have had a bigger effect on this area if they had won the championship. In our hearts, in the fans hearts, they were champions. The heroes of my youth. Get a cup of coffee and I'll tell you why. It's a long story, but a good story. The Coliseum of Richfield - a jewel in the middle of nowhere. The Beginning In 1970 Cleveland was the 8th largest city in the country. But that was a difficult period for Cleveland and the entire region. I think the term "rust belt" wa...

Is America Ready for President Trump?..... At first it was just a chuckle. Eventually I broke into a full-blown belly laugh. LMAO as they say. Literally. This was funnier than a SNL skit. One guy called the other a choker, and the guy on the other side a liar. I was watching the Republican presidential debate The comedian was Donald Trump. If it wasn't so serious, it would've been hilarious. Made this pic myself. Scary, isn't it? America has never had a candidate like Donald Trump. His bigoted, plain spoken style is not used by candidates running for the highest office in the land. This is talk you hear in a bar after a few drinks. But a certain portion of America seems to be eating it up. Donald Trump is a very rich man. He became that way mostly from real estate. That means he has had success in business. That gives him confidence. It doesn't give him the qualities to be leader of the free world. It does mean he can hire a very effective campaign staff. Righ...

Apple vs. The FBI. Time to Choose..... Last December, terrorist Sayed Farook and his wife murdered 14 innocent people in San Bernadino CA. Their iPhone 5c was probably used in planning and other communication. Their other phones had been destroyed. (Note: Originally I had a picture of all the victims faces. Couldn't do it.) The FBI would like to get into that iPhone, but it's locked. The FBI has asked Apple to help. Apple refused. They say it would set a dangerous precedent, and potentially compromise the privacy of iPhone users. That's the situation in a nutshell. Civil liberties vs. national security. Corporate protection vs. protecting society. I'm afraid it's time to pick a side, people. How much of your privacy are you willing to surrender to live securely in today's world. FBI Headquarters To be clear, the FBI just wants help to get into this one particular iPhone 5c. It's password protected. If you guess wrong 10 times, the memor...

What Can Generation Z Bring?..... I really enjoy comments and criticism on my thoughts and writing. At least it shows me somebody is actually reading and paying attention out there. One person that regularly lets me know about it is my daughter. I respect her opinion because she is a learned microbiologist and graduate student. So she's gotta' know something. Anyway, she thinks I should write about more serious topics. Too many fluff pieces she thinks. That may be true. But only because they're easy and fast to write. I just write some clever lines off the top of my head. Serious topics I actually have to think more and do research about. Nevertheless, today I will write about kids. Generation Z - Promise and Problems. Sounds ominous. First, let's do some generational definitions. Baby Boomers - the Woodstock generation. Baby Boomers are considered people born after World War II and through 1964. They are now between 51 and 70 years old. That's me. We ar...