The Observation Deck

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/issue_pdfs/Observer_Vol_09_Issue_16.pdf

WOW!

Here we are blasting through summer and for that matter the year. Issue 16, has always been a hallmark for us, as the back to school ads start to come in, and we start to look ahead to both the Lakewood Car Kulture Show. (My favorite event since Jerry Koneigsmark and Chris Andrews started it to show off the ultra hip and cool "Madison Village" area of town.)

Well Chris moved on and Madison Village morphed into what it is today. It underlines that "cool" is nothing more than a stop on the time train, and that like so many things that are fleeting and faux. But communities are so much more constant, and by the sheer size and flow of people are able to reinvent themselves sometimes successfully and sometimes not.

Last week I put on the "infamous" Observation Deck, "A Tale of Two Cities" a story about Parma and Lakewood-- a story I wrote after spending 3 hours with President of Parma City Council, Sean Brennan at the Root Café, a business they would love in Parma.

Both cities have Observers and so I have a lot of background on both. They are as different as night and day, but the list of what Parma wants, and a list of what Lakewood has is pretty amazing. They are desperately looking for a way to build a skate park, a dog park, an art community, bike lanes, and want to save their independent movie theater, ironically also owned by Mr. Barr,s the man who owned the Lakewood Theater. How is that for a list? Sounds familiar, like Lakewood's accomplishments over the past couple years. So why are they looking to do this? Well the bottom line is to attract residents. After all, residents are what make cities a community and livable.

Why do they copy us? Well, Lakewood has been at the lead for sometime now so it is only natural to try things others did. After all, we did not invent, skateparks, dog parks, bike lanes, or even catchy slogans like "Lakewood, the Paris of Cleveland's Inner Ring Suburbs," well OK we did invent that one but not the idea of marketing and slogans.

I mean who could ever forget "Cleveland's a Plum" the slogan that was going to take Cleveland from depression to rebirth and growth on a level never seen before.

Or now “CLE+” which most people mistake for CLEVELAND HEART-- it is an insipid mediocre branding idea that if the entire region from the Great Lakes to Wheeling West Virginia was looked at as one "tight" region, we would have the same GDP as Swaziland, or Rwanda.

Well, as those countries are in the midst of civil war and strife and hardship so is the country of CLE+, for after all, at the end of the day every sane person understands that Motorola moving to Youngstown is just not really good news for those of us on the "North Coast."

Last week I had a pretty cool person on the porch and I asked him to name 5 good music venues in Cleveland. "Ok, Kent Stage...." And there you have it, Kent Stage, I could name 5 in Lakewood. But the boy that sold his soul to the country of CLE + couldn't see just how green the grass was in his own community. At the end of the day, this is what the country of CLE+ needs you to give up: your identity, and your sense of community for the bigger picture, which is all about selling out to the corporation, not the people.

But I digress, because every summer I get the chance to get a rebirth and a reawakening to the concept of community, neighborhoods, friends, family and LAKEWOOD, THE LIVABLE COMMUNITY. Where the city turns out en mass to simply walk down the main street on a hot summer afternoon, and for little other reason. A community where every other person has some weird connection to everyone else and ourselves. Where the person you just met over "LiveWell Lakewood Hot Dogs" is the neighbor of that girl you went to school with, and you both think... Where the person that just bumped into your car, is the baby brother of your best friend in school. Where the person you have wanted to talk to your whole life is at the table next to you, and they turn and say, "Great day, what's your name?"

And where even newcomers or wash-a-shores as we call them understand the vibe of the city before they learn their address because community and a sense of community is one of the strongest instincts in humans-- a gathering place--a place to work and live together, a place to rejoice at the end of the day and every morning. I am proud to say that Lakewood has that in spades, and I hope we never lose that feel.

I hope to see everyone at the Lakewood Car Kulture Show, LEAF Night, Lakewood Park, City Council or School Board meetings, PTA, or wherever we gather in tiny celebrations of the community we LOVE.

PLEASE take the time, get involved in your community, volunteer, if not here with the Lakewood Observer, than with LakewoodAlive, LCAC, LEAF, or many of the great causes and events around town and always celebrate Lakewood.

I have no idea how we got to the pinnacle but god knows we deserve it, and we should celebrate that every day that we wake up.

peace/love

PS - How are those New Year Eve Resolutions working out for you?

.