Gloria Ferris

Today is Earth Day. We have been celebrating this day for 41 years now.  On first Earth Day I was a student at BGSU.  My first  memory of that day isn’t much different from many spring days on campus-kite flying, sidewalk chalk art, boys playing guitars and girls with long flowing hair listening to folk songs.  There were impromptu debates on how our earth would not survive if we continued our dependence on oil and gas.  Chemically altered food would poison us and our children. Our streams and rivers would die with fish and wildlife gasping for breath.  Nuclear power was coming to a town near you and would be the death of us all. In fact, the peace sign so familiar to us all, began its career as an anti-nuclear power symbol which soon encompassed “no war” as well.   It sounds like those discussions were dark, bleak,  and desperate.

Not so, many of my college friends had plans for the solutions to all of the dire situations that could be our future.  All they had to do was graduate, have their degree, and change the world.  Many changes in our world did come to pass.  Two of the biggest  was the 1970 Clean Air Act and the 1972 Clean Water Act.  An act spurred in part by our own “crooked river, the Cuyahoga catching fire, not once but twice because of chemical sludge from the refineries and industries along its bank.  Today, a towpath trail is being designed to wind along that same river.  Fish, birds, amphibians, and reptiles have returned to its banks, and when the spring air warms, sculls will again be seen skimming across its surface.

Meanwhile, our state and federal legislators are preparing to gut our laws that insure clean air and water to our citizens.  At the same time, they are considering opening our system of state parks to drilling and “fracking” for oil and gas. Fracking, a term so new that I had to add it to my dictionary. Surface mining in Old Brooklyn was recently held off by a group of determined citizens, their councilman, and the City Planning Commission.  soon, we will be protesting the largest “trash to energy” incinerator in the nation using unproven techniques  with no assurance that the technology is safe for humans within the confines of Cleveland at the Ridge Road transfer station.    

There are those who would tell you that we cannot compete if we do not relax the laws put in place 40 years ago or if we do not embrace unproven technology to pay for energy. These same people rely on our memories being short.  Now, that we can see across the river and the smokestacks are mostly silent, they believe that they can eliminate  the laws that allow us to breathe easier and make us safe from chemical poisoning.

I would say this to all of you. Now, is not the time to relax laws to  make it easier to use the same old fossil fuels and chemicals that continue to pollute our air, but rather it is the time for Cleveland to innovate the new technologies that will carry us into the 22nd century just like those who came before us made us an industrial powerhouse in the 20th century.  We should be on the cutting edge of the new technologies needed for energy that does not pollute our environment. Yes, this may be expensive in the short term, but will be well worth the benefits overall.  Consider the alternative of cheaper in the short term, but more expensive in the long term with more health costs, less quality of life, and cheaper for whom the consumer or for the owners of the corporations getting the breaks.  Take a look at your latest utility bill.  You are conserving all that you can, and still the bills are rising.  Our dependence on gasoline is increasing due to less mass transit and the price just keeps on rising. Taxes, fees continue to rise while corporations continue to say that they cannot afford to do business in Ohio.  Really, who says so?  

Forty one years later, the phrase :If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem is just as true today as it was then.  Do not let fear guide you. Stand up and tell your legislature that now is the time for new ideas and new solutions. It is not the time to prop up corporations that are dinosaurs which will only die a slower death if they are allowed to gut the clean air and water laws.  Get out, take a walk, drink the fresh air, contemplate the wonders of the earth, and  know that you can preserve them for future generations. Use your vote.

The best place for French Toast in Cleveland  is at Cafe Miami in Old Brooklyn.  This morning the editors of the soon to be published (well, maybe not SO soon) first ever Brooklyn Centre Naturalists Cookbook met to continue collecting, editing, and working on this crucial fundraiser for our neighborhood group striving to become the next certified National Wildlife Community. But the first step to a good work session is a good breakfast.

And so, we ordered our breakfasts, sipped coffee, and settled down to work.  Cafe Miami is not the breakfast place for you on a Saturday  if you want a hurry-up and get going start to your day.  Larry’s place is a more of a read the paper, “what’s your hurry” kind of diner on Saturdays. Did I tell you that I LOVE the French Toast.  It is sublime. The inside is soft and the outside has a subtle crunch to it that offsets the softness. Delicious.

Every time I step through the door of Cafe Miami I feel like I have been transported to the Deep South. Maybe, it is the Mardi Gras posters on the wall, the Jazz feel to the place, or maybe I truly am transported to a different time and place.  I kid you not there is a magical feel to this cafe.  The salt and pepper shakers, the antiques, the books that are placed around the place which Larry always encourages people to read or borrow, and much, much more has to be seen to be believed.

Just as I think I can’t wait one more minute our food begins to arrive.  Recipes and computers are put aside as we dig in while the food is still hot.  As we talk about our week, we munch on toasted English Muffins, French Toast, eggs and bacon, I suddenly realize that we better get down to business, finish eating, and get back to work.   As we say good bye to Larry, owner chef, and his waitress, Marie , I glance at the clock realizing we have only used two hours of our Saturday.  I think to myself “how can this be” we finished  proofreading that huge stack of recipes, separated them by category, ate breakfast, and I feel as refreshed as if I had been soaking up sunshine on the beach. I stop cold as I look outside and see that it I am in cold and rainy Cleveland.   I kid you not I thought that I would be stepping out into the sunshine with a hot breeze tousling my hair.  Instead, I am dodging huge raindrops and am soaked to the skin by the time I reach the car.  I am telling  you that there is something magical about this cafe.  If you don’t believe me, visit it yourself, and prove me wrong.

When this story first hit, I wondered how many of the attorneys and employees of the “Rights” groups touting unfair targeting had ever ridden the Health Line or any other RTA bus other than the high end commuter buses from the suburbs.  Regular riders on the 79, 35, 20A and 26 myself included often wait patiently as a bus driver explains to someone with no fare why they can’t ride for free “just this time”.  More often, we are shuttled on to the bus because the fare box is not working.  For years, I have wondered how much fare money is lost because of these fare boxes.  Do I feel guilty when I can’t pay, no, because I had every intention to honor my agreement with RTA ”I pay you, you get me where I am going on time.  Of course, I probably have had to start my journey an hour and a half before my appointment, but that’s another post.

The Health Line has become a regular route on my forays around town.  It allows me to meet friends and colleagues for coffee with little hassle because of the coffee shops along its route. I travel the route from downtown out to University Circle and back again. I now know how to buy tickets at the stations  thanks to two very helpful Case Western students.  Actually, I might still be at the station in front of Thwing Hall if not for those two. Let me say that I found the instructions on the fare board more confusing than helpful.  I continue to avoid 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm whenever possible because the crush of high school students is very intense. I have, at times, not been able to avoid rush hour which is another crushing time, but I am well equipped to pay my way although I often feel like I am one of the few who do pay regardless of age.

Two of the things I like best about the Health Line are: the display board telling you when the next train will arrive and the space for waiting for the “train/bus”.  When I first started hopping the Health Line, I had some trouble finding where I should validate my card.  I did what I always do in a situation where i don’t know what to do, I observed the other people at the stop. Imagine my surprise when not one person swiped their card.  Each and every one of them stood, hands in pockets, avoiding eye contact. Finally, I ventured over to the fare card box and figured out how and what I needed to do.  That day, one man and myself were the two who paid fares before boarding the train.  For a year and a half, I have from my own observation believed that the pay rate for the health line was probably somewhere between 15 and 30 per cent excluding people transferring from other buses.  I have yet to see people step up to swipe a card or buy a fare more than once or twice while waiting for a train.

Last week, I met a friend for coffee at Moko Cafe.  As I walked to the 14th Street stop, I decided I would make sure I counted each person who paid a fare. I knew I would be waiting six minutes for the next train. I had just missed one.  Granted, some riders may have transferred from another bus, but the majority would probably hop on from one of the office building around the stop. Twelve people waited at that stop in the middle of the day-four with book bags, three with cold hands stuffed in pockets, two with briefcases, a lady with a baby in a stroller, me,  and a young man who sprinted across the street hopping into the train just as the doors closed. I figured he was probably the rider transferring from another bus.   How many did I see pay?  Me.  Not one other person bought a fare or swiped a card.  Every other person arrived after me. Now, I understand from an article in the Plain Dealer that this “quick on honor system” was a concession to receive federal money for the project.  Well, it doesn’t work.

There is a lot of talk about targeting certain riders for non payment, but I can say to you that the group I waited with was very diverse and NO ONE paid except me-the white haired white lady.  So, stop a full train, target any population, and I am willing to bet that you will find that the percentage paying is probably around 30 to 40 per cent.  Cross socio-economic lines, ethnic groups, age groups, and you will find the same numbers.  It should not be about  targeting any one group.  It should be about a stupid “honor” policy that does not work in the real world.  If anyone had asked regular riders of the RTA how such a system would work, we could probably have told you that it wouldn’t.  Of course, when the need for federal money to finish a project or to start a project outweighs the practicality of an “honor system”, we know which one wins, and now, we have a community again targeted as “discriminatory”.  The Health Line is discriminatory, but not for the reasons cited in this Plain Dealer article.  It discriminates against me and every other Clevelander of any color who pays their way on the bus line.

If it were free to each and every rider what would the economic benefit be to the businesses and employers along that line?  If it were free,  would more college students use it to attend classes at CSU and CWRU stopping to eat lunch or have a cup of coffee with a study group? If it were free how much revenue would the parking lots lose along Euclid Avenue?  If it were free how much would the carbon emissions in Dontown Cleveland be decreased?  If Cleveland’s carbon footprint was enhanced how many federal $$$ would that mean for Cuyahoga County? Would people use it to reach Playhouse Square? How would gridlock be eased during rush hour on snowy or black out days? Would people feel safe and secure along the route if it was used night and day? We do know the “honor system” is not working. Have we looked at innovative and creative ways of solving the problem? Or have we simply slipped into punitive,  unenforceable mode?

Since my heart attacks, strokes and cancer two years ago,  I have paid much more attention to the role vitamins play in good health. Recently due to problems with muscle weakness and muscle pain, which I believe is due to a serious side effect from the statins—crestor and Lipitor, I have been taking. I have become very aware of Vitamin C’s role in heart health.

Now, today,  I read this article on Vitamin D’s role in cancer prevention, heart health and diabetes control.  At my six month check up, my primary doctor and cardiologist both said that my vitamin levels, enzymes and cholestrol readings were at good levels.  Next time, I intend to ask questions about the meaning of that sentence “What is good?” and “how could we enhance those levels”?  Vitamin K and I are already very good friends since the control of my intake of that vitamin is vital to my INR level remaining stable.  INR readings are used to make sure that your blood level stays within an acceptable range for clotting, and too much or not enough Vitamin K can alter those readings.  Obviously, Vitamin C and D are very beneficial to the health of the human body as well as the mind and spirit.  Optimally, getting Vitamin C thru diet is an option, but the “sunshine” vitamin not so much.  How could supplementing our bodies with these vitamins hurt us? Other questions I will ask my doctors’  are: What is the role of  the enzyme COQ10 in heart health  and how can I boost my body’s quotient?

May I suggest you ask your doctor these questions as well?  Granted, we have life giving drugs that can help us when  we are gravely ill,  but shouldn’t “healthy lifestyle” questions be part of every conversation with our doctors as we strive to become healthier and less dependent on “our drug culture”? It remains a mystery to me that our vitamin levels are based on studies made in the 30’s and 40’s when our society was much more agrarian in nature and the need to supplement vitamins was probably not the same as today in a fast paced world with little time for the outdoors and well balanced meals.  If this is not an endorsement for the ”local food” economy, I am not sure where else we could find one.  If we are to become the “healthy” society we can be, it starts with our conversations with our doctors and nurse practitioners.   I’m not sure that I am comfortable with a government agency relying on studies of sixty years ago and pharma companies dependent on the drugs they sell for revenue deciding how my doctor and I should control “my health”.  Are you?      

She was exactly 11 hours and 20 minutes old.  This morning as I do every year on my daughter’s birthday I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.  Although each year added creates a distance from the “main event” of the memorable Thanksgiving holiday, I mark off each memory and smile just as I did then.

Tim won a turkey from the Knights of Columbus yearly turkey raffle at Blessed Sacrament and decided that we should have his family over for the holiday meal.  He asked them all, and when he had their RSVP’s in hand he informed me that I would not have to do a thing; he would be cooking the turkey.  Thanksgiving was November 28th that year, and as all the “old wives” were telling me the first baby is ALWAYS late. My due date was December 2, 1985.

What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn’t because there I was with my little helper. Maureen. baking pies on Thanksgiving Eve.  After the pies were done, I decided that the kitchen floor needed mopping immediately.  Forget that Tim would be cooking all day Thursday and the floor would undoubtedly need mopping again.  On second thought, maybe I was guarding against a dropped turkey or some such other disaster. I should have known this task was not a good idea when Mo (Maureen) had to bend over repeatedly to pick up the mop and/or bucket as I laboriously worked from one end of the kitchen to the other.  Anyone who has had that first baby will see this for what it was:nesting on steroids.

Thanksgiving Day  dawned bright and early with frost definitely on the pumpkin. Tim’s turkey that year was exquisite and he handled the cooking quite well. For some reason, he retired that year.  The family arrived and just as we sat down to dessert, my mother-in-law Jeanne asked me if i was okay. I asked why and she said that my face was as red as the jumper I was wearing.  i told her that now that she mentioned it my stomach was cramping fiercely. All the women but me flew into action knowing that Katie Anne was on her way. They pushed us out the door telling us to forget about the dishes and Mo and Lady the dog. They would handle everything. 

We arrived at MacDonald House in a record fifteen minutes. Tim says twelve minutes, but I have really never thought that humanly possible.  As we entered with our portrait of a turkey designed by Mo, Tim’s pom pom shaker and our mix tape of Led Zeppelin tunes, we were prepared to spend the night awaiting Katie’s birth.  One resident had other ideas.  She told me that I needed to go home, put my feet up, have a glass of wine, relax, and I would come back tomorrow to have my baby.  When she left the room, I told Tim that there was no way that I was leaving that hospital.  Luckily, the nurse who patted my hand told me that I was going nowhere. She had already called my obstetrician.This vignette happened at 11:30 pm.  Katherine Anne Ferris was born at 4:11 am November 29.  

During my stay in the hospital, I dreamed of that piece of pumpkin pie I left on the dining room table. When Baby Kate was settled in with her Mamaw and big sister, I went to the refrigerator where there was nary a crumb of ANY dessert left.  When I turned toward Tim, his response was”I didn’t want it to spoil”.  I was gone for two days!  I immediately remembered that we had the sweetest “little punkin” who would be with us each and every day.  And KT, you knew I would say it didn’t you?  

Two years ago today I started a journey that not only changed my life, but also the lives of my family and friends. Looking back, it seems hardly possible that two years have passed since that eventful day.  When I woke up in December after spending 20 days in ICU, I could not walk, use my left hand, or stay awake for more than a few hours.

Days, weeks, and months went by and I although some days the steps seemed very small I continued to progress . My amazing friends and family have stuck by me the whole way.The staff at MetroHealth everyone included still tell me at every opportunity that if anyone was going to pull through they thought it would be me because of the wonderful support group that called, visited, and sat by my side during my recovery.

And, that brings me to the perspective  of my post today—friends. Before going further, I want to explain that family are friends and friends are family.  The two have been interchangeable all my life.  My mother fostered that mindset from the time I was small. Since I was an only child, she made sure that I was surrounded by cousins and friends on weekends and in the summer so that I would not become bored and the handful that I could sometimes be.  Ask Tim, he can tell you a few of m “brat” stories as he call them.

When facing a health crisis, I cannot stress enough how important a support system becomes and is.  I am not going to chronicle those important people in this post because I wouldn’t do anyone justice, but I am sure that through the coming years I will write about many of them and those i don’t will know that the reason I do not write  a vignette about them is probably because the connection is cherished in my heart and I feel I do not have the words to properly express the encounter.

Being a friend to someone who is facing a chronic illness can be a challenge, but not if we each realize that one in three of us will face such an illness or be a bystander to someone we love faces the challenges of a health crisis.  Dropping a card in the mail, stopping for a visit at the hospital, taking a meal for everyone to share when the patient comes home , many, many things that take a lot of time or just a smidgen of time can make someone’s day brighter and sunnier.  I know because my days have been much fuller and richer by the random acts of kindness that I have received from friends.

Two years later, they are still supporting me with words of encouragement, conversations over coffee, and including me in projects and decisions they are making so that I can forget my limitations and focus on the possibilities of my life.    

Thanks to Google, I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood authors Robert Louis Stevenson.  What ten year old doesn’t love Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped?  But my true love was the poetry written by the man.

Again, thanks to Google I found “A Child’s Garden of Verses”.  Someone, on my eighth Christmas, gave me an edition of that volume of poems and the memory of that gift sticks in my head like it was yesterday.  The cover  was pale green with pink ribbons streaming down the front and back of the book, and my rush to open presents stopped, as I took the time to run my hand over the silkiness of the cover.  The real treat came that afternoon, when I sat curled in my favorite overstuffed chair with my collie,Duchess sleeping contentedly at my feet,  and I cracked that oversized tome for the first time to experience the poems of RLS.   The illustrations were memorable and when I read the poems again today those pictures of yesterday filled my head.  Some time over the years, I lost my book of poems, but I never lost my love for the poetry.

I’ve provided links to three of my favorites for just a taste of his grasp of a young child’s curiosity. I would urge any one who has a young reader on their gift list this holiday season to consider choosing an author, 160 years young, who will undoubtedly still stoke the  creativity of a child’s imagination for that someone special, eight or 10.    

The Wind                  The Swing                      My Shadow

I Received the following from a friend of mine in Brooklyn Centre.  He is right. I have seldom if ever heard Bob speak his political views at a community meeting.  Therefore, I can only surmise that the incident must have been pretty reprehensible for Bob to send this missive to his email list.  I must concur that he is right this political season has had some of the most reprehensible and downright disgusting advertising I have seen in my lifetime.  And, yes, I have turned away and said nothing as so many, but where to start and how to end, but my friend speaks the truth.  We MUST fight back by not succumbing to their intimidation tactics and to use our own words to bring reason and sanity back to our political process.

Bob’s email:

Friends:
I try to limit my political views, but I can only do so to a point. I was at a community meeting earlier this evening where a local public official noted that it’s good we’re going to see "change" during this election. He didn’t clarify however whether he was referring to just county offices (thank god were seeing change there) or to all levels of government. (state and national) Just that we’re "going to see change".

What the hell is going on in this country that so many people are sitting back, accepting and even believing the Republicans, Tea baggers and other right wing extremists as they continue with their distortions and the type of political philosophy that got this county in the economic mess we’re now in? Not to mention their troubling domestic and international policy agendas.

Make no mistake folks, the bulk of the American public lies closer to the middle, despite the efforts of the major media (Plain Dealer included) that naively struggles to bring "balance" to their readership by steering them towards the extreme right. I’m afraid due to their success and the lack of courage on the part of so many others, this country will take a drastic turn for the worse. Please everyone – many of you being public officials yourself – prove me wrong, speak-up and spread the word that we need to stand up to the extremists and stay, and even strengthen the course, before its too late.  
Feel free to forward this message.

Robert H. Gardin
Cleveland, Ohio 44109

My response:

Well said, Bob!  Besides being an educated voter and voting EVERY time, I think that as citizens we need to do what you do Bob and attend these meetings and voice our opinions.  Unfortunately, I see too many people –elected officials, government employees, private citizens who do not express their opinions in public, and therefore, we have no dialogue only demagoguery.  We need to allow for differences of approach and ideas in civic engagement, but too often there is no civility.  I believe we need to embrace freedom of speech and have "true" town hall meetings.  Too often, one side or the other takes the reins and shouts down everyone else, and therefore, our society as a whole is made poorer because we have not been enriched by many ideas and actions, but are governed by only a few, not because the plan was made by using best practices but the loudest. 

My friend Jill Miller Zimon  has been incensed by how many well-qualified women candidates have either been vilified or ignored  by so many citizen and mass media journalists. My apologies for the choice but the title is just so wonderful and it gets readers to where I wanted them to go.   She has also called out Josh Mandel and his ill-disguised attempt to use religious intolerance to capture “voting by fear”. my term not hers.  How sad to see how far we have fallen because of silence.  I am truly blessed to have friends like Bob and Jill.  They keep me centered.

Not much time to write before my ride for day two of this conference arrives.  So, right now I will only offer impressions of the first day.  If these next two days are anything like the first all us Clevelanders are going to be puffing out our chests and bursting with pride.  First comment heard from one of the organizers was How great to step off the plane, step on a train and be at your hotel in a matter of minutes.

I attended the training session on Receivership of property.  Very interesting and I will write more later.  The welcome session with the Mayors of Flint and Memphis was a very important perspective on this problem of urban sprawl.  I will write more later.  Took good notes so I should be able to call up the memories.

Off to another day of learning with I bet more compliments about our great city!

and much, much more swirling in my head.  Where should I begin?  First of all, there are three entrances to the event. One at the east end and two on the west end of the High Level Bridge. Taking the train and/or riding a bicycle are very viable modes of transportation.  If you think you need the freedom of a car, your best bet is to enter at the west end where the parking at Massimo’s and/or street parking is available.  Actually, bus, train or bicycle may give you more freedom.  Think about it.

We entered through Massimo’s walking down the stairs through the subway entrance.  The event this year is FREE, but believe me the $5.00 goodwill donation is a real bargain because there is so much to see, hear, and do once you enter the venue.  So, if possible be generous because as my friend, Adam said, “this festival is the best thing I’ve ever seen in Cleveland”.  When Adam said that, Tim and I knew we were in for a treat.   The space itself unleashed some incredible examples of creativity. There is no way I could do  justice to descriptions of them in this post. Instead, I will mention a few  that  were highlights of the evening for me.  Believe me, you will have your own favorites after you visit this incredible place. And, these are just a few of many, many things I saw.   People were so enthusiastic that complete strangers would walk by and tell you “New Orleans has the Mardi Gras, but we have the Ingenuity Fest”. There was a Mardi Gras feel to it or maybe more of a European feel-the streets of Paris, Amsterdam. Whatever it is, the energy and enthusiasm is certainly something that Cleveland can use. 

First, we met the Underground Ballerina, Lisa Lock, who is again performing an incredible dance that needs to be seen to be believed.  Be sure to step behind the curtain at Cat Walk and make the kinetic sculpture move for others.  Again, Melissa Daubert with her students have used shadows to create a unique experience for festival goers.  Be sure to stop and talk with artists along the way.  They just love to share their techniques and artistry. The waterfall is extremely beautiful at night because of the lighting used, but I am sure it would be a sight to see at any time of day. Along the length of the bridge, there are spots where sidewalk artists can create canvases to put up along the sides of the bridge.  There is a chance for budding artists to try their hand at Graffiti. The screen is hooked to a computer which enables the artist to design, erase, and save.  If we had planned to stay longer I would have tried my hand at aerosol art.

Gypsy Beans and Baking Company has a coffee/pastry stand set up for noshes as does BOGO Pizza.  There was other food available but we just had to stop and see Nikki on our way across the bridge. At the east end of the bridge, we listened to a talented band, called “Turntables on the Hudson”.  They had everybody dancing in the street.   We heard that today’s line up of bands are the headliners of the festival, but let me tell you that the bands we heard were pretty darn good. 

Sarah Morrison’s dance troupe wore their signature striped leggings while performing an intriguing dance using “Sarah’s Egg”.  I hope you get to see them today.  Also I hope “The Mirror Mime” is in attendance when you visit as well as the “Fashion Week” models who were decked out in duct tape. cotton batting, plastic, and various other recyclables.   There were dinosaurs,, banshees made from can lids, and all sorts of “things”.  Be sure to stop at Baker and Iris, Inc. and try your hand at building a bridge using pencils and other materials.   But enough about what I saw and experienced.  It’s time for you to have your own Ingenuity Festival!