if i ever have a child (i'm not planning on a child, in fact, i don't have that other thing you need for a child..)
whether it be a boy or a girl,
first name: West
middle name: Cleveland

and i'll do it too.

i just read the most inspiring, heart-warming wonderfulness about my beloved city, i must share, here it is, well, only part of it:

"..Then I hear people talk about how Cleveland is a dying city, how they need to move somewhere else to have a career, how there is nothing here for them. But I look and most of the time they aren't contributing anything, just waiting for someone to hand them something so they can take it. "

"Enough of this crap. If you want your surroundings to be better, then do something about it. Or get out of them. If you don't know where to start, then ask someone who might. And if you don't think you can do a good enough job to do it RIGHT, then find someone who is and offer to help. You have no idea how overloaded we are, how much we are trying to do, and how much just one day of help would put us ahead.

The country likes to laugh at us. Now it's up to us to decide who's going to get the last laugh.

Step up, or step aside."

I'm crying, tears running down my face, this is so wonderful. It makes me so happy, I don't know the person who wrote it (i mean, i know who wrote it, but i don't KNOW who wrote it...get me?) but I know that I'm not alone in my intense love and desire for action to make a difference in my beautiful CLE.

I knew there were others like me, who see the spirit and the spark of Cleveland.
Dearest CLE, i love love love you, you have bewitched me, body and soul.

*sigh*

it's so funny to me, for YEARS all i wanted was to be back in cleveland, in the time i was away
i felt a huge void in my life, which i figured was due in part to my need to be back home, in a
place where i felt i belonged. but now i don't know if that's entirely it....

don't get me wrong, i LOVE cleveland, there is NO WHERE else i would rather be, but i know that
i want something else to, i want to share my cleveland with someone...

i take loooong walks and runs everyday and i always see wonderful, crazy, weird, beautiful stuff
that i wish i could share with someone. like under the detroit bridge there's some of my favorite
grafitti ever and there's a little stop at voinvich park that i love, and a great place to skip rocks at
edgewater way far down from the public areas, and i want to show it to someone...well, a guy actually,
one guy in particular.

but it will never happen. oh well.

my 'hood

so, as we all know, i live on w.49th & detroit in the heart of cleveland's ohio city neighborhood

(westside!!!). but what i have recently discovered is that i actually live in a sub-hood of ohio city called gordon square.

the gordon square neighborhood has been re-christened the gordon square arts district, because of the presence of some great new restaurants and refurbished theatures. cleveland public theature and the capitol theature (hopefully we can steal a cedar lee from the eastside too) are the anchors of our new art community.

i love my neighborhood, come and visit me, or check it out www.gordonsquare.org

FLASH, it's the cleveland clinic

so we all know that the cleveland clinic is a world-renowned healthcare provider, BUT

did you also know that they have some of the most beautiful flash ads EVER! seriously,

their ads are absolutely gorgeous!

i was just on cnn and had the pleasure of watching the ad about kidney surgery, done through

the belly button to minimize scarring and trauma to the patient's body. not only is that an absolutely amazing surgical innovation, it has also made for an incredible piece of flash art!

there are several other ads out there, the one about making a one inch incision for robotic surgery is also fantastic. my only unfortunate wondering about the ads is, are they done by a

local Cleveland design firm? i certainly hope so, there is so much amazing design talent in our

little gem of a city, however, we often put ourselves done.

SO, my call to all Clevelanders and Cleveland designers is this, hold your head up high, be proud of our beautiful city and our beautiful lake. AND be proud of our design.....and our healthcare.

wow! it's been a year!

i am going for a record! most time between blog posts! actually, not really, its just happened

that way....

anyway, my love for Cleveland is still going strong, i still think it is the best place on earth and i

am still a staunch defender of the honor of my city. i will be posting more as things start to evolve and take shape in my life in Cleveland. i think i am in a transitional period in my life, much like the city itself is changing.

around this time last year i was on the edge of ohio city, somewhere around w. 103rd, buying a chair from a little hole-in-the wall junk shop, and as i was leaving the store with my $5 dollar chair (i paid for it completely in quarters) a gentleman in the shop stopped me.

"you just moved back, didn't you?" he said

now, i was buying a chair, which may have been a dead give away, but people do buy chairs, even when they are not in the process of moving,

"i did" i replied, somewhat shocked, i didn't know this guy, i had never seen him before in my life.

"you are surrounded by the people that you need with you." he continued "you missed it here, didn't you?"

i was literally dumbfounded, do i ooze my love of cleveland from my pores? could he smell it on me? i choked up and stammered,

"yes, yes i do, i love it here, cleveland is my home."

"well, welcome back, this is where you belong."

my eyes were full of tears, but i was smiling, " i know"

i wanted to drop my chair and hug him, but i was practically sobbing with happiness.

i gave him a huge smile and walked out onto the street with my chair.

i haven't been back to that shop in the last year, but i am sure it is still there, and i swear this story is true, every word of it. it's proof that i love my city and it loves me back.

i {heart} Cleveland

This is my frustrated reaction to those of you out there who continuously rip on my
beloved hometown. Cleveland is not only a wonderful place to grow up, it is a fantastic place to
vacation, live, and thrive in. This city has so much to offer and this blog is my personal manifesto and proof of devotion to the city I love. For those of you who have never visited, why don't you come and face the city you decry? I can guarantee you will be welcomed and, despite your negativity, you will enjoy yourself.
I love this city, and I know you will too!