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...