Opinion

The opening line of Charles Dickens’ classic novel of France during the French Revolution was “It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.” That line could accurately describe the United States this year as we get closer to election day in November. I watched some of the party conventions this summer and the contrast between the two major political parties couldn’t be more radically different than they are this year.

Fifty years ago this summer, the country was in the midst of a real constitutional crisis amid a battle between the executive and legislative branches.The nation survived and the constitution worked. So, let’s call up Peabody and Sherman from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show and their “way back” time machine and set the calendar back fifty years  to August 1974.

In the May issue of the Parma Observer, Emory Pinter’s piece on National Preservation Month in architecture shone a spotlight on the status of the current Parma Heights library branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, with a call for preserving and re-purposing the 60-plus year-old building on Pearl Road.

This spring saw another key anniversary from 1954, seventy years ago that could have some ramifications for the present time. Wisconsin’s Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy was perhaps the most powerful man in Washington DC and at one time had a veto power over presidential appointments. But in a Senate hearing in June 1954, he was brought down by an old lawyer from Boston.

Dear Editor:

Seventy years ago, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregated schools were unconstitutional, banning segregated schools across the country. This ruling overturned the 1896 Supreme Court ruling in Plessy V Ferguson that public facilities, including schools, could be “separate, but equal.” In the majority opinion the Supreme Court stated that separate was inherently unequal. Despite the ruling in this case that began back in 1935, actual desegregation happened much slower.

One of the greatest baseball players of all time, Yogi Berra, came up with lots of great expressions. One of my favorites is his phrase “it’s déjà vu all over again”. Recent events in congress is proving that Yogi Berra was right with his expression. I am writing about the recent refusal by congress to pass a strong bipartisan bill on immigration. This bill was worked out in the Senate by both political parties and had the support of President Biden, who indicated that he would sign it into law after it passed the House of Representatives. But this immigration bill died in the House because a group of extremist Republicans prevented this bipartisan bill from ever coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives.

Since the last partial eclipse in 2017, the build up to this year’s Solar eclipse has been insane. By 2021 the countdown had already started with a warning about being ready to protect our eyes. By 2023 the Meteorologists were starting to talk about the eclipse and what the weather might be like: who was going to be able to view it and what the path of totality was. This continued to build until every- one was whipped into a feverish pitch, and the meteorologists were all having nervous breakdowns. How could anything live up to this hype? I mean it’s just the moon, something we see every day, moving past the sun, something we also see every day. What’s the big deal?

For the past 50 years, the month of May has been a time to celebrate and promote historic preservation for its many benefits to our communities.Those benefits are expansive and include social, economic, and environmental benefits. Historic preservation is the act of preserving or protecting a building, object, or other artifacts of historical significance. In the United States, the preservation movement has a long and rich history. The preservation movement began in the 1850s when the Mount Vernon Ladies Association saved George Washington’s homestead. A hallmark of the movement is the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which set up federal policies and acknowledged the importance of preserving this nation’s heritage. 

Recently I watched a documentary on PBS from their American Experience series about the year 1964. They said that year was a pivotal year in that decade where a lot of things happened that changed just about all aspects of life in the United States. After watching that two-hour documentary, I must agree. In 1964 I was in high school at Valley Forge High School, and I remember the events of that year very well.

Should You Buy Your Child an Electric Bike? With the Spring around the corner, many parents, family or friends are considering buying an electric bike (ebike) for their favorite child, or maybe they got one for Christmas. If you search the internet for advice on whether an ebike is safe for your children, you'll see that there aren't a lot of concrete studies on the topic. Before doing so, the pros and cons of an ebike (versus traditional bikes) should be considered:

There is a favorite quotation that said that those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. This could be coming true in this year’s election. One of my favorite cartoon programs from my youth was the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. One segment on that show featured a very brainy dog and his boy, an eager lad named Sherman. Peabody the dog had invented a “way back machine” that could go back in time where they could change history. For this piece, let’s set the “way back machine” to the year of my birth, 1948.

Scrolling through my social media feed recently, I came across a news article about Parma Ohio, tourism, arts & culture. I’m very proud of my city. I’m a big cheerleader for it, ask anyone who knows me. Parma has a lot to offer, and I love living here. The article stated that Parma had 9 local art & cultural places to immerse yourself in. Wow I thought! Another arrow in my quiver to use when I boast about our city. So I eagerly read on. 

There was a disturbing column recently in the Cleveland Plain Dealer regarding Ohio’s junior Senator J. D. Vance regarding his opposition to continuing aid to Ukraine in it’s battle against the Russian invaders. The United States and its European allies in NATO have continually supported Ukraine for two years since Russian forces invaded that nation and sparked the biggest war in Europe since the end of the Second World War. This was an unprovoked invasion by Russia, and it has been the objective of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin to restore the old Soviet Union.

Suzanne Simard, Professor of Forest Ecology in the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Forestry, recently published the book: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.

According to the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report in 2021, which is the last update from the VA, 6,392 Veterans died by suicide, an increase of 114 suicides from 2020. This means that an average of 17.5 Veterans died by suicide each day in 2021.The age- and sex-adjusted suicide rate among Veterans increased by 11.6% from 2020 to 2021, if the 11.6% yearly increase over the past few years, remains constant, we can assume that the 2023 to 2024 increase means the daily average of veteran’s suicides is near twenty-three. Veterans remain at a 13% higher elevated risk for suicide compared to the general population.

Following the attack by Hamas on Israeli settlements outside the Gaza Strip in Israeli territory on October 7, there has been an increase in anti Semitism around the world and even in the United States. This country was founded by people escaping religious persecution in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, that document established the reasons for independence from Great Britain enshrined the ideals of freedom from tyranny.

Hamas rapes and tortures women, kills and beheads men and children and we have celebrities like Susan Sarandon telling us how bad the people are who were raped and murdered. Reminds me of listening to Truman Capote one night on the old Johnny Carson Show. He made an awfully good case that being intelligent and being an actor are mutually exclusive. Now, over fifty years later, Sarandon is proving that hasn't change. Personally, I've never seen an actor demonstrate any expertise in anything other than pretending to be someone they are not. Con men do the same thing and go to jail for it. There's a lesson there but a lot of people just can't seem to learn it and they keep believing everything celebrities say. Apparently, intelligence isn't only mutually exclusive with acting.

Perhaps the most popular song of all time is the classic Bing Crosby Christmas classic “White Christmas”. Although Bing Crosby has been dead since 1977, his song will be played everywhere during this holiday season. But no doubt few people today know how or where this song originated.

A favorite television cartoon show back in the early 1960s was the Rocky and Bullwinkle show that featured a flying squirrel and a moose fighting the cold war. One segment on that show was a brainy dog, Peabody and his eager boy, Sherman and their “way back machine” that allowed them to go back in time. It made for great entertainment in my early adolescence. Let us imagine that we had a “way back” time machine and we could set the time to go back in time fifty years to the autumn of 1973. Here we go.

Dear Parma residents,

I was surprised on the morning of September 2 when I heard of the death of Jimmy Buffett. Ever since the mid-1970s when I first heard his song “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and *bleep*”, I was hooked on his music. Since his first album after leaving Nashville in 1972 after his first two albums didn’t sell, he has released 29 studio albums with most of the songs being new material with a new studio album scheduled for release in November. Along with the many concert recordings and collections, he has become one of the most prolific recording artists of the past fifty years.

This poem was written last year as part of a mini series for the 100th anniversary of St. Charles. Our community is many things — and chief among them is our sense of belonging.

Fifty years ago, this past summer, one of the top movies playing in the theatres was Soylent Green. That movie starred Charlton Heston as a police detective and Edward G Robinson in his last movie before he died as his old friend and confident. The setting was in an overpopulated dystopian society in 2022 where there weren’t enough jobs to go around, and we couldn’t produce enough food to feed the masses. The giant Soylent corporation literally controlled the world’s entire food supply, and the favorite food was their Soylent Green.

Congratulations, Parma, you have your first bike lane! You may have noticed some symbols painted on
the right outer lanes on Pearl Rd between Brookpark and Snow Rd. This is called a sharrow. Bike
Cleveland describes it as this: "This symbol is a “Sharrow” (a cross between “share” and “arrow”) or “Shared Lane Bicycle Marking”. They are painted on roadways as a reminder to motorists that bikes may be present on the road, and
yes, they are legally allowed to take the full lane."

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, it may seem that the Republican party has adopted a different belief than it had held during the immediate post Second World War period. Now, many Republicans are following the beliefs espoused by the Libertarian Party and it has now become mainstream in the Republican party.

Independence Day (July 4th) is commonly but falsely associated with the military, the fact is that Independence Day has no affiliation with the military. The firing of military guns and cannons on this day lead to the assumption that this day was in fact a military related event. The gun salutes heard on this day were actually  salutes to represent the original thirteen founding colonies. This is the day the thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain. More importantly, July 4, 1776, is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. (It was actually signed on the 2nd of July)

It has been said that our national parks are America’s best idea. In fact, the entire idea of setting aside unique natural features was an American idea. On March 1, 1872, then President Ulysses Grant signed an act that established the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho as the world’s first national park. Ulysses Grant never visited Yellowstone National Park. But the reports from explorers told of natural wonders that were incredible; of geysers spouting boiling hot water and of hot pools of mud and of the remarkable wildlife in that area. In fact, Yellowstone National Park was the first declared national park in the entire world.

A few months ago, Florida Senator and Senate Republican chairman, Rick Scott suggested “sunsetting” government programs. This is a term that would require reviewing government programs every five years and perhaps terminateding some. He also suggested that Medicare is one program that should be reviewed and renewed on a periodic basis. I wonder how this went over in his state of Florida that has perhaps the largest population of people over age 65 in the nation.

In last month’s column I discussed tornadoes in Ohio and locally. This is a continuation of that subject.

Many of you know that the Parma City school board and the superintendent have decided to tear down Parma Senior High school and several elementary schools. They also want to build a new school on Parma Senior High School's site. I would love to fight to save the whole building as it is my alma-mater. In addition, I have been involved in some way or another in the school district and Parma Senior High for the last 25 years. I definitely do not agree with the superintendent's plan to get rid of these schools for many reasons and I definitely do not think he should be tearing down Parma Senior High at all because the school was build very well and is still very viable but I think that fight would be fruitless. I am, however, helping the Parma Senior High School Stage Crew circulate a petition to try to save a piece of Parma Senior High School. We are trying to save the beautiful, historic 1500 seat theater, the iconic bell tower and the little theatre. The large theater used to be home to the Cleveland Orchestra and many stars like Frankie Avalon have been on that stage. One of the students has put together a petition with a lot of history about these spaces to get signatures to present to the school board and superintendent to try to convince them to keep the theater section of the school. I am asking the residents of Parma to help us by signing our petition. The petition is on Change.org. I am including the link here. https://chng.it/rj8kdZ54LD If it doesn't work, please type in the url to get to the petition or go to Change.org and search for "Save Parma Seinor High theaters and bell tower". We are hoping to get enough signatures to change their minds.

We had an egg-ceptional Easter at Pleasant Lake Villa this year. We enjoyed a beautiful Good Friday prayer service lead by our very own, Reverend Thomas. He spoke about the importance of Good Friday. On Holy Saturday, there was some-bunny special that stopped by with Easter candy and helped us color Easter eggs. Then, we showcased our residents' art and enjoyed delicious Easter-themed desserts. Thank you to all that made our Easter season such a blessed experience this year! 

The word hero comes from the Greek ἥρως (hērōs), "hero" (literally "protector" or "defender"), The definition of a hero has changed throughout time. Merriam Webster dictionary currently defines a hero as "a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities." Wikipedia defines hero, as one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good.

There’s no reason certain entities or special interest groups should have life-and-death power over Ohio wildlife.

I am writing to express my opinion that the Parma School Board is not making a good decision about tearing down and closing schools and moving kids at this point.There is no levy money, inflation is high, construction costs are extreme, and children in the 2nd and 3rd grades are way behind in math and reading due to school closures. I felt that the board needed to slow down, and let our children recover from time lost in the closures. When I went to the meetings and expressed these ideas, I was told that “kids are resilient”, will get over it, and the board’s plans were going to be continued. It was, also, mentioned that this was all based on an internet survey with receiving about 1,000 responses. Unfortunately, I was the only one present at the BOE meetings. I, also, believe that they feel that if they tear down Parma Senior High, it will force people to pass a levy. Just know that we will only have one high school in the end, and all others will be torn down. It would please me to know that more residents had their voices heard. Whatever your thoughts, please contact the Parma School Board members and let them know. We shouldn’t allow this big a decision about the futures of our children to be left to so few people. Thank you for your thoughts in advance. Pat Nemeth, retired teacher and grandparent.

“From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind. They could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south and as they turned their eyes that way, they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also. The north and south winds met where the house stood and made it the exact center of the cyclone. In the middle of the cyclone, the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it higher and higher until it was at the very top of the cyclone and there it was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather.”

On February 14 1884, a young Theodore Roosevelt then a state legislator in the New York State Assembly welcomed the birth of a daughter. But later that day, his wife, the love of his life, passed away after giving birth due to Bright’s Disease. That same day, he learned that his mother had also passed away from typhoid fever. His father had passed away a few years earlier. Now, a young Theodore Roosevelt was devastated with grief.

It’s a new year, which means you have goal setting on your mind to create a new, better you!  As a senior, it's never too late to learn something new. If you’ve always wanted to study history or art or one of the myriad other courses offered at TRI-C Community College, now might be the perfect time. Residents 55+ can sign up for Encore 55+ Classes. There are virtual sessions or on-campus sessions which run on Fridays only from Jan 27- March 10. Only $99 for up to 6 courses (bundle) or $30 per course (a la carte).

I grew up around health care. My mother was a long time RN at Lutheran Hospital in the OB-GYN Department. Later in her career she became in instructor in OB-GYN at the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing. She went to Ohio University right out of high school in 1936 and was in a six year cooperative program between Ohio University and the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing that led to a BA degree and a RN certification. She finished that program and started her nursing career in 1942, the same year that she married my father. She retired in 1984.

There is a new sequel to the classic holiday movie "A Christmas Story" about Ralphie showing his children the wonders of Christmas in his youth. This is a column that i wrote a few years ago and I felt that it was entirely relevant again. We all have our unique Christmas stories and here is mine from growing up in Parma during the 1950s.