Did you feel a wave of optimism flutter over you at 11 a.m. this morning, Cleveland? Because you may remember this time and date as the exact moment when your fortunes turned.
In dueling exhibitions of ceremony, the Cleveland Browns announced Pat Shurmur as the new head coach at 11 and a bunch of people in suits with shovels “broke ground” for the Med Mart at the same time. How could the confluence of two such monumental events not be the harbinger of prosperity and happiness and a signal that these woebegotten groups — Cleveland and the Browns — are finally heading in the right direction.
We are saved, fellow citizens and fans. Let us bury our collective sorrow behind the garage and never look back. Hip, hip, hooray! Three cheers for Cleveland!
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2011.
You sure thats not a pic with the following caption?….”Local leaders finish burying Cuyahoga County with more taxes and less results as thousands of individuals and businesses flee the area”
Since 1990 til 2010, the US Census Bureau estimated approximately 136,000 people have left Cuyahoga County. Thats equal to 9.8% of the current total population. And to Tax’n Tim, thanks for those 20 “wonderful” years. Maybe you can reduce the funding to Metro General by the same amount.
Well I know the favorite dish of Clevelanders is a buffet of pessimism, a side order of sarcasm and a half empty glass of water but in a few years you all may be eating crow.
I was just talking to my neighbor at a local get together another neighbor had for the local kids at the Halloran Park skating rink, cost about $3 bucks. Well my neighbor, who went to Harvard by the way and lives in our little corner of West Park, and I were talking about Medical Mart, the new Browns coach,the new computer company that moved from Strongsville, the West Bank of the flats project, the new casino, the new $500 million dollar bridge and a bunch of other stuff like the new battery Park wine bar and we think the future of Cleveland is looking pretty good. Oh I know, I know the city is a dump, the mayor a baffoon and the leadership corrupt (my neighbor and I agree we are less than impressed with the new county leadership) but overall Cleveland may have seen it’s darkest days. You didn’t think the crossover from a steel mill town to a service based or medical based town was going to be all roses did you? Yes this city has some serious problems. But when a beer is $1.50 and a pretty nice house is $150,000 and the commute to see a show at the state theatre or an Indians game is about 10 minutes. I think you have to admit there is a lot of good in this town. I think Burke should be a boardwalk along the lake sure, but that is me. You know who loves this city the most? People who have lived somewhere else. I think Clevelanders who never leave don’t know what a two hour daily commute to work or a $5 draft is like and so they cannot appreciate what we have here.