We lost three more friends in recent weeks. They were big box multiplex theaters on shaky financial footing, struggling with rising film rentals and overhead expenses, operating with skeleton crews. ...

Congratulations to this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Pat Benatar and her husband, native Clevelander Neil “Spyder James” Giraldo. Giraldo spoke about the Hall, family life and charity work in the July 2021 Northeast Ohio Boomer cover story. The Hall has been a flashpoint for discussion since the day the building opened, especially when it comes to who gets inducted. This year was no different. ...

Holiday traditions can be difficult to explain. There’s always the glass pickle that kids try to find on the Christmas tree, usually for an extra little gift. That almost always ends up in an argument, but hey… it’s something we’ve always done. I know a guy whose family serves Jack Daniels and root beer. Years back, his dad asked his sister-in-law for a “Jack and Coke,” but there was no cola so she substituted root beer, thinking he wouldn’t notice. They’ve celebrated that mistake every year since.   ...

Traditional media moved online long ago, and most traditional newspapers don’t print every day. I get one delivered six days a week just for the crossword puzzle, and it’s as thick as a church bulletin. It’s a far cry from when we had two (and at one point three) daily papers. ...

A young artist for American Greetings named David Helton not only got in on the ground floor at WMMS-FM but also gave the radio station a face — a buzzard — that would come to symbolize a rock lifestyle for Northeast Ohio. ...

Geauga Lake Amusement Park closed in 2007, followed by the adjoining Sea World/Wildwater Kingdom in 2016. Straddling both Aurora and Bainbridge Township, the abandoned property soon will have apartments, retail stores and homes. An Ohio landmark plaque marks the site outlining its rich history, but as is true when things try to represent memories, a plaque can never recreate the enthusiasm, excitement and energy shared by the thousands who spent time at Geauga Lake. ...

We all come to those pivotal moments when you have to make life-changing decisions: stuff like what school to attend, who to marry, what job to take … and where you plan to live. That last one is familiar to empty-nester Boomers or, in the case of my blushing bride and me, those of us sick of battling winter weather. ...

There are two things I loathe about spring. Tax time, for one. We give our tax preparer a thorough catalog of receipts and expenses that resembles the Manhattan phone book. (Note to younger readers: Ask your parents what a phone book is.) The second is spring cleaning or, as it’s called around our house, “the purge.”  ...