Do I live in Lakewood? Or am I mistaken!
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:30 am
Recently I was made aware of some of the hopes and reams of a select few Lakewoodites. All I could think was, "Lakewood, Ohio?" I meant, "Lakewood, Ohio in a down turned economy, with stores closing, and the Lakewood Christian Service Center requests for help and food going up 300%?" I mean "Lakewood, Ohio the quite, safe bedroom community that's defined "downtown" area is less than .8 of a mile, with less the 30 real stores, many ready to close?"
The I flashed backed to when I was 16 years old, and shopping by myself out on Coventry. I had wandered down the street and ended up in a nice clothing store, when a cute sales clerk asked if she could help. Over the next hour she brought out a variety of shirts and pants for me to try on, telling me, "That looks good, or no, let's try something else." Well by the end of the hour she had gotten all my money, and I had a beautiful black silk shirt with long stem red roses embroidered on the front. Wide whale corduroy forest green pants that "picked up the green in the stems." Damn, she was right, they did pick up the green in the stems!
So I climb in my car and headed back to Lakewood to show off my cool, groovy hippie threads from Coventry. I pull into Bill Davis' driveway, because he was certainly a person that could appreciate cool, and wide whale cords. I got out and walked up to the door and knocked. His father "Uncle Dave," answered the door and let me in. As I walked into the living room he asked about the clothes with, "Well I have to believe she was attractive, but how the hell did they actually fit you in those clothes without them exploding." Then it came home to me with another valuable lesson in life that has always stuck with me. Do not let the sales person talk you into wearing clothes three sizes too small. Buy clothes that fit, and are comfortable, because in the end I am the person that has to live in them and work in them.
Why I tell you this story it would seem that some are once again dreaming of strip malls lifestyle centers, and other things that just do not fit, do not make sense, and are even less trendy in this day and age that green wide whale corduroy.
At this point I normally tell a story that makes at least one good friend flinch and call me. One afternoon, sitting enjoying afternoon tea on her Veranda, we discussed Lakewood and Lakewood living. Her dream was that Lakewood would end up just like Tremont. A mythical place that I am still a little puzzled over, as I have known it and people that have lived there through its entire transformation. My old bar manager opened Literary Cafe, the first trendy thing in Tremont. I said "If you really yearn for Tremont, why not move there?" With a sigh she looked over her tea cup and said, "I just can't afford to, I bought in Lakewood, and for now this is where I will be. But if I could just reform Lakewood like Tremont, ALL of our lives would be better." As I picked up my sport coat on that warm afternoon I turned thanking her for the tea and biscuits and I said, "Do not fret it is only 10 minutes away on I-90."
As I drove away, it began to trouble me more and more. Why do people think so little of Lakewood, that they must constantly strive to change it for ALL of us. Especially when they seem to really yearn to live elsewhere? Now I really have no problem with trying to improve Lakewood, I really appreciate all that are willing to grab an oar and help the city row through troubled waters. But I always think back to the black silk shirt and those wide whale cords. I sometimes wonder why when so many volunteers are bailing the sinking boat keeping it afloat in these troubled waters, other do not grab the bail can but reach for the paint brush to put flourishes on the boat. Or as I have often said, frosting a cake that has yet to be baked.
No matter how we think, or how hard we dream, Lakewood is not Bay Village, Phoenix, Seattle, the Hamptons. While we can certainly learn things in all of those cities, rarely if ever, do they transfer directly to Lakewood. No matter how cute the sales person is, at the end of the day we must all look in the mirrors and see the buttons trying to separate themselves from the fabric. In the end, the residents should strive for comfortable FOR ALL, and changes that we can work and live in. Because after all that is what Lakewood is, and what makes us different from the entire rest of the region. A pocket of livability that is just minutes from Bay Village(6 minutes), Tremont (10 minutes), Crocker Park (10 minutes), Legacy Village (17 minutes), University Circle (19 minutes), Coventry (24 minutes), etc.. Having lived in Chicago and traveled the east coast, these numbers are similar to time spent on "on ramps" in other cities. You tell someone from Chicago that you can be anywhere in Cleveland in during Rush Hour in under and hour, and they picture a city the size of Milan, Ohio.
What I also think is amazing in this story that has gone on way too long, is that every city mentioned above, is now actually looking to Lakewood, for their "cool." They RIGHT NOW see Lakewood as the city to look too, for their future. They are amazed at our schools, our library, our art walks, our LEAF Community, at our engaged citizens, and yes at our paper. It is a very real lesson in "the grass is always greener on the other side of the street." What I tell these politicians, and civic leaders is, "Don't chase cool, do not focus on what is cool now, learn from others but always apply it in a way that makes sense to your city, it's residents, and will still work down the road. Be realistic, work with your community, and always make sure it fits."
It is usually now when they ask me to define "cool." I always tell them "cool is a word one of my very best friends use to slap me back to reality with a very simple, "Yeah, you are one cool dude."
Lakewood is unique, it is special, let's not ruin it by running off chasing cool, chasing Bay Village, chasing Tremont. Maybe, just maybe we can define "liveable" "comfortable" "workable" on our own terms, and like many of the very real organic movements in Lakewood, help others to learn how it applies to them.
FWIW
.
The I flashed backed to when I was 16 years old, and shopping by myself out on Coventry. I had wandered down the street and ended up in a nice clothing store, when a cute sales clerk asked if she could help. Over the next hour she brought out a variety of shirts and pants for me to try on, telling me, "That looks good, or no, let's try something else." Well by the end of the hour she had gotten all my money, and I had a beautiful black silk shirt with long stem red roses embroidered on the front. Wide whale corduroy forest green pants that "picked up the green in the stems." Damn, she was right, they did pick up the green in the stems!
So I climb in my car and headed back to Lakewood to show off my cool, groovy hippie threads from Coventry. I pull into Bill Davis' driveway, because he was certainly a person that could appreciate cool, and wide whale cords. I got out and walked up to the door and knocked. His father "Uncle Dave," answered the door and let me in. As I walked into the living room he asked about the clothes with, "Well I have to believe she was attractive, but how the hell did they actually fit you in those clothes without them exploding." Then it came home to me with another valuable lesson in life that has always stuck with me. Do not let the sales person talk you into wearing clothes three sizes too small. Buy clothes that fit, and are comfortable, because in the end I am the person that has to live in them and work in them.
Why I tell you this story it would seem that some are once again dreaming of strip malls lifestyle centers, and other things that just do not fit, do not make sense, and are even less trendy in this day and age that green wide whale corduroy.
At this point I normally tell a story that makes at least one good friend flinch and call me. One afternoon, sitting enjoying afternoon tea on her Veranda, we discussed Lakewood and Lakewood living. Her dream was that Lakewood would end up just like Tremont. A mythical place that I am still a little puzzled over, as I have known it and people that have lived there through its entire transformation. My old bar manager opened Literary Cafe, the first trendy thing in Tremont. I said "If you really yearn for Tremont, why not move there?" With a sigh she looked over her tea cup and said, "I just can't afford to, I bought in Lakewood, and for now this is where I will be. But if I could just reform Lakewood like Tremont, ALL of our lives would be better." As I picked up my sport coat on that warm afternoon I turned thanking her for the tea and biscuits and I said, "Do not fret it is only 10 minutes away on I-90."
As I drove away, it began to trouble me more and more. Why do people think so little of Lakewood, that they must constantly strive to change it for ALL of us. Especially when they seem to really yearn to live elsewhere? Now I really have no problem with trying to improve Lakewood, I really appreciate all that are willing to grab an oar and help the city row through troubled waters. But I always think back to the black silk shirt and those wide whale cords. I sometimes wonder why when so many volunteers are bailing the sinking boat keeping it afloat in these troubled waters, other do not grab the bail can but reach for the paint brush to put flourishes on the boat. Or as I have often said, frosting a cake that has yet to be baked.
No matter how we think, or how hard we dream, Lakewood is not Bay Village, Phoenix, Seattle, the Hamptons. While we can certainly learn things in all of those cities, rarely if ever, do they transfer directly to Lakewood. No matter how cute the sales person is, at the end of the day we must all look in the mirrors and see the buttons trying to separate themselves from the fabric. In the end, the residents should strive for comfortable FOR ALL, and changes that we can work and live in. Because after all that is what Lakewood is, and what makes us different from the entire rest of the region. A pocket of livability that is just minutes from Bay Village(6 minutes), Tremont (10 minutes), Crocker Park (10 minutes), Legacy Village (17 minutes), University Circle (19 minutes), Coventry (24 minutes), etc.. Having lived in Chicago and traveled the east coast, these numbers are similar to time spent on "on ramps" in other cities. You tell someone from Chicago that you can be anywhere in Cleveland in during Rush Hour in under and hour, and they picture a city the size of Milan, Ohio.
What I also think is amazing in this story that has gone on way too long, is that every city mentioned above, is now actually looking to Lakewood, for their "cool." They RIGHT NOW see Lakewood as the city to look too, for their future. They are amazed at our schools, our library, our art walks, our LEAF Community, at our engaged citizens, and yes at our paper. It is a very real lesson in "the grass is always greener on the other side of the street." What I tell these politicians, and civic leaders is, "Don't chase cool, do not focus on what is cool now, learn from others but always apply it in a way that makes sense to your city, it's residents, and will still work down the road. Be realistic, work with your community, and always make sure it fits."
It is usually now when they ask me to define "cool." I always tell them "cool is a word one of my very best friends use to slap me back to reality with a very simple, "Yeah, you are one cool dude."
Lakewood is unique, it is special, let's not ruin it by running off chasing cool, chasing Bay Village, chasing Tremont. Maybe, just maybe we can define "liveable" "comfortable" "workable" on our own terms, and like many of the very real organic movements in Lakewood, help others to learn how it applies to them.
FWIW
.