Rich Engle Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Hi, All...Please excuse (or enjoyed, I guess) my 6 month-plus absence. In the end, it was really about Internet connectivity.In between that, a lot has taken place; some good, some bad. I was evaluating the time to actually come back to this place (which I consider sacred).A little uptake has been done on my part. Time to step her up a notch, methinks.Hi to All, so I say...rdeNice to be back on the football field.Send me email: rdengle@msn.comNamaste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Branden Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 It's good to have you back, Rick. You were missed. I hope more good than bad happened during those months.Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Hey, welcome back, Rich.J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Rich,Good to see you back.Heh. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfonso Jones Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Rich - Welcome back.Alfonso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Go away.--Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Barlow Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Rich, Good to see you back. I hope you are having a fine autumn on the shores of Lake Erie. -Ross Barlow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syrakusos Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Hi to All, so I say...So, was that avatar taken down in the Valley? I grew up in Cleveland, a little closer to the steel mills, but ended my teenage years in Lakewood, then moved away for a few decades. About ten years ago, I took on a project downtown and got an apartment at Cove and Clifton. "Ah, returning to the scene of the crime," my ex-wife said. (We met in Lakewood Park.) The nice thing about that neighborhood is all the route 55 buses that come down Clifton. You don't even need a schedule. On the ride downtown, the bus would pick up a few of my colleagues. (In fact, toward the end of the project, I actually had somoene on my team a a few doors away on the other side and we would meet at the bus stop.) Well, in the middle of all that, I was at a numismatic convention in Denver and I saw a vendor with "Cleveland" above his booth, but I did not recognize the name. I asked him where his shop was and he said that he was stictly mail order and he asked me where I lived. I said, ""Lakewood." He replied, "No one lives in Lakewood but gays and FBI guys." I almost said, "I am a gay FBI guy." Though neither is true, it would have been the perfect comeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Welcome back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Thanks for the greetings, boys (and girl)...Barbara--I'll send you an email...hope you are well. Michael M.: I like your swanky new avatar! No, the picture was not taken in the valley, it was taken during a hike through Chapin Forest (Kirtland). But rest assured the valley is as beautiful as ever. Cove and Clifton, heh... I used to live on Hird and Clifton. I'm on the south side now, off of Madison (by the RTA station).Lakewood has changed a lot, but on the other hand just a little. Unfortunately it involves urbanization, and, sadder yet, crack.Gay guys and FBI guys would be welcome compared to some of what goes down around here. Last week I got jumped by 3, er, "urbans" while I was walking home from a pool match. They lost, but my face got pretty messed up. In Lakewood, of all places...geez. I used to live here, between 78 and 82.My last six months have been some of the worst (and the best) I have ever gone through in my life. My position was "eliminated" due to the implentation of a new computer system (a project I spearheaded). Then, my employer contested my unemployment. There was a lag, and during that time the child support people suspended my driver's license without bothering to notify me. Eventually, I won the case, and child support payments resumed. The day after this, I was driving through a western suburb notorious for police fishing expeditions; I had gone out there to take a friend to dinner. I was arrested, roughed up, and put in jail. The whole thing cost me about 3000.00, what with attorney and all. My vehicle was impounded. I didn't have anything other than a credit card to pay for the impound fees, and they wouldn't accept it. The impound fees now exceed the cost of the vehicle and I lost that too. Nice.During this time, the love of my life came out of 8 years of breast cancer remission (she had already lost part of one sometime back). She went through weeks and weeks of aggressive radiation therapy, and we were looking at surgery on her good breast. She got burned badly, and lost feeling in her right side (not good seeing as she is a tap/belly dance/ballerina. She got a terrible burn mark. In the 9th hour, we were told via MRI results that it was finally reducing, and she's out of the woods at least until November. And, during that time, the roomates I lived with (music pros) showed their true colors and bugged out on me mid-month. I had to relocate to the lower suite of the house, with no help other than my one friend. Then, I got extremely ill for the first time in years. It was some kind of flu-like thing or maybe environmental poisoning, and I was flat out for 3 weeks. The only things that helped were hydration, and activated charcoal tablets. But, there were things on the good side. I took several master classes in dance (my hobby) including cha-cha, which I really like more than jitterbugging, even. Also, my album is three violin tracks away from completion. Victor Pross provided a painting for the cover art, I like it. And, I started a new business venture, a printing and screen shop business (part of which is being built into my house). So, that was good!Rough indeed.best to all,rdeHolding forth since, well, forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Rich; You've been through a lot these past six months. The love of your life's experiences put my forty radiation treatments into prospective. Hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 (edited) Chris: Thank you.... you too. Geez, that's about how many she just came out of.And I forgot to thank Brant, for not wavering a moment in being all a Brant can be. I even missed you, you nasty prick... :baby: rdeSensitivity, schmensitivity... Edited September 29, 2007 by Rich Engle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Chris: Thank you.... you too. Geez, that's about how many she just came out of.And I forgot to thank Brant, for not wavering a moment in being all a Brant can be. I even missed you, you nasty prick... :baby: rdeSensitivity, schmensitivity...I'm glad you're back. You've been through a lot--so much it's kind of mind-twisting. It sounds like you've landed on one foot but stayed upright. I wouldn't have tried to be funny if I'd known the half of it.--Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 I'm glad you're back. You've been through a lot--so much it's kind of mind-twisting. It sounds like you've landed on one foot but stayed upright. I wouldn't have tried to be funny if I'd known the half of it.--BrantHey, I really did miss you. You're witty. It made me smile, that reply...Finest Kind,rdeOff to research and start up on Diana Hsieh, again...sorry, Maestro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Uhler Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 (edited) ...Gay guys and FBI guys would be welcome compared to some of what goes down around here. Last week I got jumped by 3, er, "urbans" while I was walking home from a pool match. They lost, but my face got pretty messed up. In Lakewood, of all places...geez. I used to live here, between 78 and 82....I'm sorry to hear this. My partner & I lived in Lakewood from 1999 until last December; it sounds like we picked a good time to leave. Although we never had such a problem as you described, it was obvious to us that the area was no longer as stable as we used to think it was.Nevertheless I enjoyed my years in Lakewood and will remember it with fondness. Edited September 30, 2007 by Richard Uhler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 .............snip................Gay guys and FBI guys would be welcome compared to some of what goes down around here. Last week I got jumped by 3, er, "urbans" while I was walking home from a pool match. They lost, but my face got pretty messed up. In Lakewood, of all places...geez. I used to live here, between 78 and 82.Rough indeed.best to all,rdeHolding forth since, well, forever.What is an "urban"?Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Perhaps an inner city dweller. I think I will use urban rather than some of the other expressions I think to myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 (edited) What is an "urban"?Um...political correctness just doesn't get it here, I guess. Lordy knows I tried. In my case here in Lakewood, it means: Mainly, younger African American criminal lifestyle males, that moved in from the east side.I just spent 2 and a half years working in East Cleveland, one of the poorest and most violent cities in the U.S. I had this vision of coming home to the safe, artsy environment that used to be Lakewood. It's still here, just with pimped-up enhancements. Crack stems on the treelawns down my street. A pimp at the corner doing brisk business. Guys that think having their pants down halfway to show their boxers is stylish. Guys that think it's funny to try to beat up a white boy. Suprise! Nothing like going after a geeky, 160 lb dork that happens to be a trained bodyguard.rdeAll about edumacation, but sometimes you gotta do it old school, dog. Edited September 30, 2007 by Rich Engle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMF Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Rich, it's "dawg"...."dawg" I myself wondered where you'd gone. Sorry to hear of your misfortunes, but glad to hear that there was some good tossed in there as well. Welcome back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 Well, at least I didn't use the "N" word. Yet.rdeOnly a matter of time, dawg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMF Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Well, at least I didn't use the "N" word.Neoclassical? *scratches head in confusion and looks all innocent* :twitch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 I thought the new "N" word was neo con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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