I’m not a writer, so I cannot do my trip justice.
Nonetheless, I had a great time this weekend. There’s something about driving through the airport streets that’s euphoric. It’s liberating. For the most of 3 days, I abandoned my problems, worries, stresses, to just breathe.
Stephen Merchant says this often, that travel broadens the mind, and I couldn’t agree more.
My perception of Cleveland has to be from the musical number in 30 Rock, where Tina Fey and Jason Sudeikis fly to Cleveland to find Tracy.
Dig that sweet Cuyahoga glow
New York and Paris just don’t have The sights you see on Euclid Ave.
Beneath the haze of cigarette smoke and the misty spirits, the weekend was enjoyable. I was quiet, being the baby of the family. I reveled in their company, and embraced those moments.
The shuttles, rental cars, breakfast foods, seats, endless tags and stickers: it’s novel to me since it’s been 3 years. I love it all.
Politics, philosophy, and regular banter was the subject of conversations on the way there.
Driving through downtown Cleveland was something, especially during lunch hour. Apart from the pedestrians playing Red Rover on the street, Fast 8 was shooting scenes.
The stadiums lace the city and are somewhat close together. Lake Erie beckons along the coast: the East is home. I’m home.
Wedding preparations consumed most of the weekend, but I got the time in with my older siblings to reminisce and pick minds.
Cleveland is a beautiful city; its history is colorful. Terminal Tower is an intimidating presence. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic are landmarks among many others. The names of the lost were engraved in every corner of the Civil War museum. A trip to the Rock & Roll museum would have capped off a great weekend, but time was not willing.
Music is respected in this city.
Upon leaving, I learned that Clevelanders are a proud people. Ron, a Marriott attendant, was as hospitable as they come. It was the first day that he boasted the city, but the last day, he was open about his life. He talked about the struggle to win custody of his daughter, his confrontation with atheist friends, his agitation when he is sold short. It was his story about his grandmother and his mother that resonated with me.
Growing up, he said that his mother never believed him to complete junior high school. She was very temperamental and impatient with him, unforgiving. His relationship with his grandmother is what pushed him to pursue a degree in Social Psychology. “How could my mother be so mean, and my grandmother so calm?”
He wanted to figure it out how this was possible. It was profound in that he wanted to look to a science to reconcile the differences in their character. I’m going out on a leap to say that it was also his reconciliation of faith and scientific inquiry that solidified his foundation, his morals, his principles.
That, or he’s a damn good attendant. These don’t have to be exclusive, either.
Ron was the bridge between my lethargy, hopelessness, fatigue and the hope and optimism for dreams and goals.
Thank you Ron, and thank you Cleveland.
