Cleveland and Ohio...
I've been busy these past few weeks. I went with my grandfather to Cleveland (sorry Joe for not telling you, it was somewhat last minute) for his last trip. He sat me down a few weeks ago and told me he's getting sicker and getting deeper in Alzheimer's. He told me he wanted to take me to Ohio and show me his college (as well as my grandmother's and parents), his town where he grew up, and he had a lifelong dream to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
So, we set out last Friday. The TSA is a bunch of punks with old people with bad hips, and that's all I am saying about that. So, we get to Ohio and believe it or not, I drove on a total of 8 interstate highways in a foreign place. Anyway, we drove to Berea and saw the college. It was kind of cool imagining both my parents and my grandparents meeting on the sidewalks I was walking on. I was struck with the fact that the buildings were built with a lot of care and attention, unlike the stucco heaven, otherwise known as Central Florida. So, as I was looking at this, I notice a carving in a brick on one of the halls. "Jim and Terry 1970", (my parents and their wedding year) with my parents Greek symbols next to it. It was eerie, but it was cool.
On Saturday, we drove from our sweet hotel in Downtown Cleveland (The Hyatt at the Arcade) to Vermillion (about an hour away) and looked around there. My grandfather got real teary eyed looking at some of the buildings and haunts of his childhood there. I was kind of at a loss as to what to say and what to do, but I just stayed quiet and let him do his thing. He eventually composed himself and we went to a restaurant called "Red Clay on the River" and it was honestly the best hamburger I've ever had.
After a while, we got done there, and he needed to rest when we got back to Cleveland. So, he rested and I went to the Rock and Roll Hall fo Fame. Man, that was a sight. A huge glass building resting on Lake Erie shaped like a record player next to Cleveland Browns Stadium. I spent 6 hours researching and looking at greats from Elvis to Jefferson Airplane to Michael Jackson to the Sex Pistols. I was completely enthralled with this place, and was sad to walk out at closing time.
Sunday brought one the longest drives ever! Cleveland to Canton took close to 2 hours. Driving through towns like Akron, Youngstown, and Alliance, it was really sad to see how depressed these places are. There are brown clouds hanging over these towns from where the steel ills used to be before they closed in the mid-90's. Not to mention the roads are all kinds of fu*ked up...
Finally, we get to the football hall of fame, and my grandfather about had a caniption. Honest to God, he cried just looking at some of this stuff. You would've thought he'd died and someone put him in a place better than Heaven. I had a good time, but he about talked my ear off, and to his credit, I didn't know he had it in him.
We got done from there, and came home on Monday. The flight was kind of bumpy, but we landed thankfully. I missed a friend's party, and while initially mad, I am glad I went with my grandfather to do this.
Other than that, I am just working hard and fixing up the apartment still. It's completely hard to fathom that school starts in a mere 6 weeks. Where has my summer gone?!
Anyway, I'll update more later on. Hope all's well with everyone.