BOOM!
Pop Culture Chronicles
Bat Out of Hell
The Cleveland Connection
By Mike Olszewski
Boomers are big on anniversaries, and I’ll get to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in a bit, but let’s look at another landmark album that turns 40 in October.
Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” sold 43 million copies on Cleveland International Records, the brainchild of the late, great Steve Popovich.
Popovich worked at Columbia/Epic and eventually started Cleveland International. I say this with the greatest respect, but sometimes he looked like he slept in his clothes.
Then you went into his office and there are the photos with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and on and on. Popovich told Columbia Records to sign Michael Jackson as a solo artist, and there was a photo with him, too.
He insisted that my wife, Janice, and I come out to see this 9-year-old kid singer he was promoting; it was Hunter Hayes. This guy had a Midas touch and was generous to a fault.
Something’s Fishy
There was an ethnic bar on the west side that was famous for its fish fries. A bunch of us, eight or nine radio and record people, were knocking back beers and eating like kings when the door opens and it’s Steve. He came in for take-out, and while he was waiting he sat with us.
When his dinner came he looked at me and said, “Michael, ask me how’s business.”
All right, I’ll bite. “How’s business Steve?”
“Don’t ask.”
He picked up the whole table’s tab and wrote “business conference” on the receipt — the most expensive fish fry he ever bought.
He knew rock ’n’ roll, but he loved polkas. Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople (“Cleveland Rocks”) was on his label and was sitting in his office one day.
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Farm Market Fresh
Summertime in a Basket
You can keep your chlorinated pools, air-conditioned resorts and jammed amusement parks.
For our money, the best place to spend a few hours in the summertime is at one of Northeast Ohio’s farmers markets.
Summer’s slog through our humid, hot weeks is almost perfectly measured through the colorful fruits and vegetables that show up in vendor booths each week.
The season starts with crisp greens, fresh flowers and strawberries in June, then moves to squash, raspberries and blueberries in July. August’s bounty comes in quick succession: tomatoes in odd and expected colors, zucchini, sweet corn, melons. Did I mention zucchini?
By September, we’re a bit jaded by summer’s plenty. That’s why it’s a perfect time for the season’s heavy hitters: fragrant, sweet grapes, bushels of apples and the look-at-me pumpkins and gourds with their crazy shapes and colors.
Careful observers, mindful of the season’s rainfall and temperatures, can guess within a week or so how far into summer we’ve gone and how close to autumn’s chill we’re getting.
If you’re not a seasoned farmers market shopper, we’ve got a few hints to get you started. An old hand? Consider checking out a different market or two in another community.
Despite its sprawling suburbs, network of highways and big time sports teams, Northeast Ohio remains, at its heart, farm country. Why not eat like it?
Your Guide for a Fruitful Farmers Market Visit
By Breanna Mona
Do you just squeeze the produce and hope for the best?
Wait, can you even touch the items at all? How do you know you’re picking the best? Is the professional shopper in the straw hat and yoga pants rushing you along?
Take a breather and take in these tips straight from the horse’s mouth — or should we say farmer’s?
...Finding Freedom
Career Change Takes the Cake — and Sells It
By Margaret Briller
Not everyone can imagine what’s beyond the horizon and make it a reality. Liz Rowan did and now enjoys the freedom and challenges of owning a business.
For much of her career, Rowan, 54, worked with a school system’s employees and students, helping manage their tech needs — database and equipment training for the staff, computer program lessons for the students.
In the back of her mind, Rowan knew she wanted to do something different — really different.
Rowan and her husband had talked for years about owning their own business, but the circumstances weren’t right for a change.
“Now, the timing seems to be right because our children are in their early 20s and moving into their own lives and getting less dependent on us,” Rowan says.
Hard Work, Sweet Success
“I wanted to do something that could use the skills I’ve accumulated through the years of working, being a parent, community member, etc.,” Rowan says. “Being my own boss and making the decisions for my business are important to me. I like having the freedom to be myself and to work as hard as I like and to see the results of that.”
In April, after months of planning and training, Rowan opened her store — a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise — in Strongsville and never looked back.
She took a chance and embraced the freedom to make a change as an entrepreneur.
Assisting Rowan in growing her business is Dee Sweetnich, her bakery manager. Sweetnich helps her focus her energy on what’s most important at that moment when Rowan has 50 thoughts going through her mind.
“Dee has a different perspective on how things work, and that helps when I am looking at operational issues or how to handle guest service situations,” Rowan says.
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Let Freedom Ring
Define Your Time
By Estelle Rodis-Brown
Ahh, freedom.
From the page of our nation’s Declaration of Independence to the pages of our lives, nothing’s quite so sweet as the intoxicating ring of freedom — the certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Yet, if you really think about it (or read the full Declaration), you must accept freedom from something before you can pursue freedom to something better.
Stretching Limits
After midlife, we experience a cascade of new freedoms, if we can see change in a positive light. Whether it’s a newly empty nest, the absence of a partner, retirement or downsizing, each change represents a freedom from old obligations and expectations. This opens up new possibilities: freedom.
Suddenly, you find yourself with time and space that you didn’t have before. Don’t fritter them away on daytime TV and falling into the same old ruts left over from that previous life. Instead, satisfy old longings you never gave yourself permission to pursue before. Join that class you were afraid someone else would think was silly. Take that trip you talked yourself out of before. Paint your living room that bold color you always wished you could. Reach out for better relationships. Because guess what? Now you can.
Big Changes, A Life Redefined
Perhaps no one better illustrates the dramatic before-and-after equation of life than Brenda Formberg of Ravenna.
When midlife hit Formberg, so did a slew of unwelcome changes: She divorced. Her daughter left for college. There was a second cancer diagnosis, job loss, and the resulting need to find a new home.
Her outlook seemed hopeless as pieces of her once-stable life fell apart. Eventually, Brenda emerged with renewed vigor for the pursuit of life, liberty and, yes, happiness.
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Eye for Design
Attract Buyers with Easy Updates
By Dianna Hosta-Stickney
Thinking about selling your house? Try looking at it through buyers’ eyes.
Shiny brass light fixtures, maroon walls and sculptured carpeting may be fine for you, but those outdated details could be a turnoff to prospective buyers.
Realtors see it all the time. Many people, especially as they age, get a bit lackadaisical with keeping up on the latest decorating trends. Brass-tone fixtures, deep paint colors and wall-to-wall carpeting had their heyday decades ago. Today, they’re a turnoff for younger buyers, who take design cues from HGTV shows and glossy home décor magazines.
Simple Updates
On the positive side, sellers in their 50s, 60s and 70s generally keep their homes well maintained. The roof, furnace and other major items often are in good shape for buyers. But what about the rest of the house — particularly the inside — if a move is in your future?
Consider freshening up one or two rooms or tackling a design project each year until the entire house is updated. Design experts say trends such as paint color tones and decorative finishes generally stay in style for 10 to 12 years, so use that as a general guide.
If you like green, try a tone that’s more in line with today’s style trends. Yesterday’s hunter green is today’s sage or pistachio green. Pay attention to the tone, not just the color. Unsure of design trends? Check out one of the many home improvement shows on HGTV or grab a few design magazines and see what’s popular. Right now, grays are hot.
Visit a home improvement store and pay attention to the display in the lighting department. If you don’t see anything hanging there that’s similar to what’s in your home, consider an update.
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ADHD
No Kidding — Adults Can Get It, Too
By Paris Wolfe
When Lisa, 55, of Cleveland was treated for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) this year, she felt like a new person. Her productivity improved, she slept better and life became more manageable.
“I couldn’t believe the difference,” she says. “(Medication) helped me focus instead of bouncing off walls. Before, I would be working on something and be distracted by the next shiny thing that came along. Then, I’d get anxious because I would get behind on the first project.”
That anxiety snowballed and may have caused depression. Once the ADHD was addressed, her depression and problems seemed to melt away.
An Adult Diagnosis
Before a comprehensive five-hour series of tests diagnosed Lisa, she didn’t realize adults could be affected. Like many, she thought ADHD was just for kids.
Not so. ADHD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Research suggests it persists into adulthood for at least 50 percent of those diagnosed as a child. As many as 10 million adults may be affected.
People in their 50s and 60s fall into those numbers. ADHD didn’t suddenly appear with Generation X. Despite the lack of diagnoses, it has been around for a long time, spanning generations. While causes aren’t definitive, studies attribute ADHD to genetics as well as to smoking and drinking during pregnancy.
Symptoms may be less apparent in the over-50 population because they’ve had longer to learn coping skills and life hacks.
One of the most common ways adults realize they’re affected is during an exam of a child or grandchild.
“They sit in the room with the provider who asks questions about the child, and the adult starts to see the light.
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Look Who’s Tri-ing
Local Athletes Compete on Land and In Water
By Stacy Rhea
Swimming, biking, running.
The sport of triathlon is when an athlete does all three in one long, grueling race. It’s not just for the young and buff. Watch any triathlon and you’ll see a wave of 50-plus athletes mixed in — and they’re not in the back of the pack.
The length of each portion of a triathlon varies. Sometimes the swimming portion is in a lake or the ocean. Biking is the longest section — 50 or more miles is not uncommon. Distances for the running portion are shorter, but still tough because they come at the end of the triathlon. Ironman triathlons tend to be considerably longer than conventional triathlons.
So why would anyone want to do it? Meet three Northeast Ohio triathletes and find out why one type of competition isn’t enough — they want all three.
Barb Thomas: 61
Residents: Broadview Heights
First Triathlon: 2012, Fairport Harbor
Sports have been part of Barb Thomas’ life since she was a child. Her mother played semi-pro softball and her father was a track star, so it’s no wonder Thomas is a lifelong athlete. At 14, Thomas won the YWCA nationals.
Later, as a mother of four, Thomas supported and coached her children in a variety of activities. One of Thomas’ fondest memories is when her daughter and son competed in the USAT Nationals with her. Her daughter won a national title in her age group.
A High Point:
Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Sunshine Coast, Australia, September 2016. She finished 13th in her age group.
Thomas’ Advice for a Newbie:
“Start out slow. Keep moving and just go out and have fun.
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