Cleveland!

By Rich Kozlovich

I've lived in the Cleveland, Ohio area for most of my life and I intend to spend the rest of my life here. Cleveland is a great town!We have so many things here that are so unappreciated, even by our own citizens.

We have a large cultural venue here in Cleveland:

• Did you know that Cleveland has the second largest theater district in the country? Probably not!
• The Cleveland Orchestra is considered one of the finest orchestras in the world. Severance Hall is clearly one of the best orchestral halls in the world.
• We have a natural history museum
• An art museum
• A first rate garden center
• The Great Lakes Science Center
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for those inclined in that direction.
•  We have three major sports franchises
• We have big league farm teams in the area We have tons of intramural sports
• We have all the sports and recreational activities that go hand and hand with being on the shores of Lake Erie.;
• We have snow skiing in the winter A large metro parks system that surrounds Cleveland like a green necklace, which extends into the next county. All providing recreational services including great golf courses that are all reasonably priced
• Houses in the Cleveland area are reasonable priced compared to comparable houses in other areas Cleveland is one of the world’s great medical centers. All of those Arab sheiks weren’t coming here for treatment because they couldn’t afford to go somewhere else
•  As for diversity; we have more diversity in Cleveland than any city per ratio to size 
• Virtually every kind of food found anywhere else in the world will have restaurant cooking it in Cleveland And we have pierogi’s, which Bill Clinton never heard of and loved 

The big knock on Cleveland is always the weather. The joke here is if you don’t like the weather just wait a minute; it will change. We have tough winters, and hot summers. But that is what makes us strong, but there are days when the weather is so fabulous you feel pity for those poor people who are trapped inside all day long, especially in the spring and fall. And we have never lost as many people, or had so much property destroyed by all the winters in the last 100 years, as hurricane Katrina did in one year.

In the past we have been the brunt of late comedy show jokes, we have been laughed at, snickered at, and ridiculed because our river caught on fire. But that is a mischaracterization of my town, and now all the national politico's love Cleveland. They just won't stay away. We just can’t seem to get them to stay away. We resent it when celebrities can get tickets to see an Indians World Series game over season ticket holders and we really hate to have our traffic all tied up to accommodate outsiders.

Does that attitude offend anyone? If so....get over it because we really don't care! This is Cleveland!