BOOM!
Pop Culture Chronicles
You don’t spell success with dollar signs.
What does success mean to you? Look, I don’t try to write about sports. There are plenty of people who know a lot more about sports than me. At least they think they do and I don’t feel like arguing about it.
I want the home teams to win, and after that I watch the World Series or Super Bowl and chant “Wait ’til next year” like a mantra. Have to say I was really proud of the Indians this season. When I was growing up we used to say, “Go Tribe — and take the Cavs with you!”
The Browns were always hot, but at one point the Indians were selling players to make payroll. You went to an Indians game to see some of the greats playing on the other team.
For the past few years you saw the excitement and civic pride grow with each Tribe and Cavs season. Now, about the Browns. Close your eyes, sit in a lotus position and repeat after me: “Wait ’til next year. Wait ’til next year.”
Here’s what I’m getting at. We all have our own concept of success, but that should include celebrating every victory no matter how small it seems. Did you win the office pool? Maybe you got a prime parking space. How about if someone really liked a gift you got them? What if you were just proven right about something?
Another thing: You might be retired, your kids might be grown up, and you sit around in sweatpants all day. The only time you put on regular clothes is to go to funerals for people who exercised.
Now is the time to try something new, maybe something you always wanted to do. I used to work with Ben Holbert over at Channels 19 and 43. He had a long successful career as a TV reporter. Ben once told me something his dad used to say: “There’s no shame in getting knocked down. The shame is when you don’t get back up.”
You don’t want the words “I wish I would have” or “I should have done that” to haunt you the rest of your life. The victory comes in just trying something new, whether it turns out the way you thought. Granted, you should set realistic goals. You may not be in shape to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but challenge yourself.
Oh, about Ben. Restaurants are a tough business. He started one this year on the east side, and he has people waiting in the parking lot when he opens for business. He planned well, took a chance and I’m guessing the word success is right on the money.
BOOM TRIVIA
Last issue I asked about something from when we were kids that was blue and white and sometimes smelled like vinegar. Remember mimeograph or ditto machines? Schools used them to make lots of cheap copies. Typed out on a stencil and pretty soon you had blue print on paper — and usually a test you weren’t prepared for. Ditto machines were invented in Cleveland more than a 100 years ago.
For next time: Boomer lets me post a video on the website and my last entry warned about robots and artificial intelligence. I’ll be proven right, and we were warned a long time ago. Look at the computer HAL going back and forth with Dave in the film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” What was the Cleveland connection? I’ll have the answer next issue.
