A Shot in the Arm
or a Long Shot?
If you’ve been scrambling to find a Covid-19 vaccination, you’re in good company. With limited supplies and clunky websites, it’s been an exercise in frustration for many of us. Whether we’re helping older family members or trying to score a vaccination for ourselves, the process has proven to be time-consuming and confusing. Ugh!
One place to start is the state website — vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov/ — which lists vaccine providers by county and zip code. Supplies should be increasing throughout the spring as production ramps up and new vaccines get emergency approval. The end, at last, is in sight.
A Generation’s Touchstone
Goodbye, Michael Stanley
Cleveland rock-n-roll singer and songwriter Michael Stanley was part of our lives throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. His death earlier this month was bittersweet.
Stanley stayed here and played here, but the Michael Stanley Band didn’t. We packed up our MSB albums in milk crates and carted them off to dorm rooms and first apartments, where Stanley’s lyrics and rhythms time-stamped our memories. Stanley reminded us of our younger years and hometowns in all the very best ways.
That’s a great way to be remembered.
Clothes Call
Local Company Simplifies Dressing
If you’ve ever tried to help an older loved one (or yourself, for that matter) put together an outfit and struggled to keep everything together in one easy-to-assemble spot, then you’ll appreciate this creative solution from Brecksville’s Erin Naso: The Hanger Valet.
Launched last year, The Hanger Valet is a daily outfit organizer that simplifies getting dressed, a task that can be especially frustrating for people who are trying to maintain independence and the people who help them. But honestly, who couldn’t benefit from an organizer with pockets that drape over a clothes hanger? Think about it: socks, shoes, undergarments, jewelry and anything else necessary, all in one, handy spot.
“This was something I wish I had when my grandma was alive and aging at home with the help of in-home care and family support,” Naso says in a press release. “Even though we helped pick out my grandmother’s clothes for the week when she lived at home, there was never a place to organize all the undergarments, socks, accessories and other items that went with her outfit. This product would have helped her understand everything she needed to wear with an outfit to be fully dressed and appropriate for the weather conditions when she left the house for appointments.”
The product, sold in two sizes, also is handy for developing kids’ independence, she notes.
The Hanger Valet is manufactured here in Cleveland (just off Broadway in the Midtown area) by a woman-owned, cut-and-sew manufacturer. It’s available at thehangervalet.com.
Used Bikes,
New Uses
If you’re looking for a new home for your old bike, we’ve got just the place; #BikeMatch Cleveland. Bike Cleveland matches people who have bikes with people who need bikes.
Their website has a checklist for donating ready-to-ride bikes as well as a request form to receive a bike. They require no-contact, socially distant exchanges.
Bike Cleveland is a private, non-profit group that promotes bike safety and bike-friendly public policies. To learn more, go to bikecleveland.com.
Geauga Lake’s New Amusements:
Shopping, Offices and Homes
The Wildcat and Raging Wolf Bobs are long gone from Geauga Lake Amusement Park. The park’s been empty for 12 years now, its concrete parking lot dotted with shrubs, small trees and a few scattered remnants of its fun-filled heyday.
Work is scheduled to begin this spring for the first phase of the park’s latest incarnation. A retail store followed by offices and homes will eventually be constructed on the amusement park property. Developers say they’ll find ways to honor the park’s gloried past with homages to its rides and attractions. You can watch the progress from state Route 43, just north of Aurora.
Wanted: Gardens
Who’s? Yours!
It’s happening. GardenWalk 2021 will feature nine city neighborhoods, including Detroit Shoreway, Little Italy, West Park, Fairfax, Old Brooklyn, Broadway, Slavic Village, Collinwood and Glenville.
GardenWalk is July 10 and 11. If you have a garden in one of the participating neighborhoods and want to be on GardenWalk, sign up at gardenwalkcleveland.org or email [email protected].
Centennial Celebrations
As one of the world’s preeminent healthcare systems, Cleveland Clinic has been a vital part of Northeast Ohio for a long time, 100 years, to be exact.
The Clinic is marking its centennial with a year-long celebration that includes a documentary series about the esteemed healthcare facility, a detailed timeline and other events. Go to my.clevelandclinic.org to learn more.
Another Cleveland health leader, Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, also is celebrating its centennial. Learn more about the center’s evolution at chsc.org.
