Holiday Show

 

Toy Soldier & Fairy Godmother Holiday Show at Tower City Center, which attracted hordes of families the weekend before Christmas, 2013.

Late Afternoon, Amherst

 Beautiful, painterly sky decorated a ride home from Oberlin College, where we attended a performance of the Humperdinck opera "Hansel and Gretel."

Top-Level Summit

Superior Avenue.

Public Square

 James, who asked to have his picture taken. Although cheerful, he described himself as "broken-hearted."

City Scenes, November

 St. Clair Avenue.

 East 105th Street.

 Lakeside Avenue.

East 131st Street.

Kevin in Cleveland Heights

Honk 4 Lanci

Campaigning for Ken Lanci, the wealthy businessman who ran a quixotic campaign for Cleveland mayor in 2013. The candidate, who lost by a wide margin to incumbent Frank Jackson, claims he was motivated to run following a near-death experience and religious awakening.

The Lord's Day in Cleveland

Above and below: East 105th Street.

 

 Public Square.

Near West Side.

Munch's Lunch

Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio.

Portraits, Public Square

 Mark, looking sharp in leather jacket and gloves.

Ron, in glasses and Falcons cap.

Do It Again

Some of the world's cutest kids, posing spontaneously in the Larchmere neighborhood. After I snapped the first pictures, they called me back to take another. "Do it again! Do it again!" Adorable!

Levitating on Lexington

Driving down Cleveland's Lexington Avenue, we spotted these agile young men practicing their gymnastic skills on a grassy hill behind Martin Luther King Jr. High.

The boy in the blue shirt is 10-year-old Charles, and his friend in the white trousers is Martin. How do they manage these aerial feats?

"It's easy," Charles said. "All you have to do is flip back."

Just "flip back"!

Four Little Girls

While driving down East 79th Street last Sunday afternoon, we saw people setting up posters commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that took the lives of four young girls:  Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair.  At the invitation of the event's organizer, a nice woman named Honey, we returned an hour later to listen to the rhythms of a drum circle, a brief talk, and the reading of a moving poem about the tragedy by a mother-and-daughter pair in matching white dresses (second from bottom photo).

The garden site is adjacent to the recently rehabbed Mary's House, a drug and alcohol recovery center.

Fairfax Learning Farm

This is Keith, the gracious high school student who led me on a tour yesterday of the Fairfax Learning Farm on E. 79th Street. The farm is resplendent in flowers, herbs and an abundance of ripe vegetables, which are sold every Wednesday afternoon at the farm market stand. It's part of the Cleveland Botanical Society's Green Corps program, which revitalizes vacant city land and provides valuable work and educational opportunities for students.

 

 

 Keith said they call this crop "Alien Eggplant," due to its otherworldly appearance.

The Fairfax, like the other Green Corps urban farms, is a natural oasis in a busy urban neighborhood.

The kids who work at the farm add their own personal touches: their names, painted posters, a pit barbecue and handmade furniture. Below, Keith shows off the shelving unit the students built to house their plant "starts."

 

Keith, who plans to become a music producer, says he's learned a lot from working on the urban farm, especially the value of "working hard." Many thanks to Keith for the tour!