Story

There were three interesting things going on in Cleveland in 1969: the Cuyahoga River caught fire for the second time, there were riots on the East side, and I was entering kindergarten. Being a chubby little kid of four (going on five!) I was oblivious to much of the world. I wouldn’t understand for a … Read more

I was the youngest of three boys, and I had the special pleasure of spending my fourth year with my mother while my brothers were at school. It was a golden age for any child, to have their mother in good health, with money to spend, and living in a fairly modern city (Cleveland) in … Read more

I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland back when downtown department stores were what malls are today. Cleveland had three major stores, May Company, Higbees, and Halles. My mother, I think, preferred May Company and Higbees, but when her sister worked at Halles, I know she spent a fair share of time there. If … Read more

Growing up, there were a couple of years during which I didn’t have close friends in my neighborhood. It started when Wayne B. moved away just before Kindergarten, and there weren’t any boys my age. There were plenty of kids–a couple of girls my age, a few younger kids, and then a ton of kids … Read more

But it’s the anger and frustration that ripples through the holiday crowds that truly unites us as a people.