What's the Deal with the Cleveland, Plain Dealer?

I heard from Liz yesterday.  She was on her honeymoon so needless to say, has been out of touch.  Great news is she had a wonderful time and can now put all of the wedding planning behind her, a feeling most brides share ... ah, relief.  I'm so happy for her and I appreciate her coming back and calling me to renew her dedication to A to Z.

Her updates included the latest with Ellen Degeneres and Meryl Streep, not much to report there but she is going to follow up.  She asked about my article in the Willoughby Herald and I told her I was thrilled.  Then she said that the Cleveland, Plain Dealer newspaper, passed on A to Z.  In other words, to the PD, my story is not newsworthy.  My first thought was oh well, what's next?  My following thoughts were not as dismissive.

For years I've had a rocky relationship with Cleveland.  Even though it provided me with a safe place to raise my daughter, has been my home for decades and is the place where it all started, career-wise ... I have secretly and not so secretly hated it.  Yes, I said hate.  Sorry about that.  My reason has been Cleveland's lackluster approach to so many things.  It has always appeared to me and countless others that Cleveland could be a mighty city but instead it has been the butt of many jokes. The mentality has been more like the donkey on Winnie the Pooh ... "it's not much of a tail" ... and I have never understood why.  With all of it's resources, talent and spirit, why oh why is Cleveland such a disappointment?  That has been my question.  THEN along came my idea to do A to Z.  I figured I could shine some light on an area that I have always felt was a diamond in the rough ... our talent pool.  I don't just mean acting talent but crew, artistic, musical, and overall entertainment talent.  With that said, I guess I just assumed the Plain Dealer would want to write about a project that started as a mere idea and has grown to involve so many of our local stars, truly showcasing them.  I just figured they would admire a person from Cleveland who wasn't thinking like Eeyore but was a small town girl with a big dream. I completely counted on them seeing the value.  Well, that was not the case although they did tell Liz if we actually hear from Ellen or Meryl Streep, that could change.  So that's what it takes?  I have to hear from them for this to mean something?  Never mind the tears, sleepless nights, skipped meals and total obsession. Forget the hours of writing, promoting, planning, performing.  None of that is important to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

I know I have to be understanding and underneath all of what I've just said, I am but I'm fighting the feeling that this is just a typical Cleveland move.  I'm fighting the thought that Cleveland would rather continue to appear on the top five lists of everything negative versus helping to promote someone "small".  At some point, bigger and better will happen for me and A to Z and when that does, the PD will want to talk about it.  I will be gracious and not show my disappointment. You can bet on that.  Just remember though, I'm not Eeyore.  I'm Tigger. Tiggers bounce back and so I shall. 

My one last hope is to directly contact "The Minister of Culture", Michael Heaton and perhaps he will take it upon himself to write an A to Z article like it's never been written before!