Thesis

Maybe I should start this post by explaining the theory for the blog, the reason behind the name, and the pictures that make up the Hey Der, Ho Der, Hi Der banner. 

First the title.

I came back from Chicago the month of May 2008.  One of the things I brought back was a new found respect for my cousin’s ex-wife.  We were able to talk and I was able to share with her some of the things that were going on my life.  I had only met her once before, but had been around their son many times and we all know that someone’s child carries a little bit of their parents with them, so I feel like I somewhat knew Kristen from tails and such.  We became friends on myspace and I spilled my life further.  Some reason I open up to women of a certain age (the age around my sister) for some reason.  I love my sister to death and wish I could be around her more, but I end up having all these pseudo-sisters in my life, and I could see Kristen being the Chicago version of Sue.  Anyway long story not too short, the title comes from something Kristen wrote, and hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law in June I taught the phrase to my nephew, so ever time he sees Uncle Chad he can say either Uncle Chad’s a Cool Cat, tell me how to pick up chicks, or he says Hey Der, Ho Der, Hi Der.

The Banner.

The background image is one of my favorite photos from the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.  It is a Margaret Burke-White, a photo journalist that spent time in Cleveland.  We have some items in our collection from Ms. White, I bought a catalog of her work, scanned said picture, tinted it so it’s mine and it hangs on the wall in my living room.  The picture is one of the most beautiful shots of the Terminal Tower; it shows the mills, the smoke, the bridges, the beauty of the city of Cleveland.  This was the image that I had in my dreams when I would become homesick in college wanting to be near my family.  When I went to college I never came home after my sophomore year, and even thought about spending the rest of my life in Toledo.  The pull of the eternal umbilical cord, my sister moved back to town, I got to see my nieces, and my brothers started to have kids, I no longer could leave this city and was yanked by the metaphysical pull of history home, to the city I love Cleveland.

The pictures within the banner.

The overall theme for this blog is my life, my love of Cleveland, and my love of sports, either Cleveland teams, or Chicago.  Many have called me a fair weather fan, but my love of Chicago sports goes again, back to family.  From the time I was young I loved going to Chicago to see family, then in second grade, my best friends moved to Willoughby.  The McGregors’ were one of the coolest families I had met up to second grade.  Mr. McGregor, grew up in Chicago, went to John Carroll, and stayed in South Euclid.  In second grade they moved to Willoughby.  The picture of me in an Albert Belle jersey with a Chicago Bears hat, is me with Billy McGregor, and Bobby, wearing the Dan Marino jersey.  The McGregor boys’ birthday (they’re twins) was the end of July, my birthday was mid July, so we always had that bond.  The picture was taken September 1995, which would have been our junior year and I think that might have been Mr. McGregor’s birthday?  If anyone reads this and knows what is special about September 1995 let me know.  Anyway I want the pictures to be me in sports clothing so that’s why this picture is important to the blog, it has my best friends in the picture, and me wearing one of my typical prole (thanks Megan) costumes combining different sports teams clothes, usually either Cleveland or Chicago teams, sometimes Michigan and OSU (to anger dad and connect with my older brother, I didn’t realize it at the time but that’s what I did as a teenager, now I detest Michigan and understand what my old man was trying to teach me about the evils of that state up north.)

The Blackhawks jersey picture: again OSU hat, Chicago team jersey, (FYI Clark Griswold wears a similar jersey in Christmas Vacation) Dad and I at the Applebutter Fest in Burton, Ohio, circa 1996.

Indians Jersey: Me with the love of my life Kellie Rae in Toledo.  The surrogate big-sister that I did pine over, but knew that it would never be (at the time I had a crush on her best friend and then her little sister.)

Baby in OSU outfit: Seth the boy who named the blog.

Baby and Toddler sitting: Seth and Cole

Baby in OSU t-shirt: Me in 1980 saying OSU #1 before Dad and his buddies went to an OSU-Illinois game.

Me in Beatles t-shirt holding Seth holding my Indians hat that he slobbered on: enough said.

Indians windbreaker and hat, with dad in Indians hat: The Final Game at Municipal Stadium 1996.  This was the day were fans were able to go through the old stadium, locker rooms, and come up through the dugout onto the field.  I took a chunk of grass and outfield track from the right Dawg Pound end zone.  This was also the area that Cory Snyder roamed through my youth.  Somewhere I have a picture of Daffy Dan eating an ice-cream cone from the same event.

Coach Tressel with Dad: The greatest football coach since Woody Hayes with the old man.

Me in Indians t-shirt with baby Cole: Taken this last weekend.  Look at the studs, another chick magnet for his Uncle when he gets older.  My brother taught me well.

Dad in Grabowksi gear:  This is June 1992 at the “new” Comiskey Park.  We flew to Chicago for my 13^th birthday, which wouldn’t happen until July, unless you count the fact that I went a whole ten months prenatal.  We flew in early for the Tribe-Sox series, Bo Jackson played for the Sox, the only time I liked the Sox more than the Cubbies, now like Michigan and the fact that the Sox are not in the AL West like at the time of the picture, but now share the AL Central with the Tribe, I wore Sox stuff, now I detest the Sox starting with Gene Lamont checking Albert’s bat, and all the crazy Ozzie sayings.  I still wear Black Sox 1919 clothes though, Kris Kross style. 

In this picture Dad looks like the biggest Ditka, glasses, stache and White Sox hat, all he needs is sausage, pork chops, and an Old Style and you’d never guess we were from Cleveland.

So there you have it, I think through the explanations, I love history, I love my family, and I love my two favorite cities, Cleveland and Chicago, and that is the theme of this blog.