Hi. Welcome to my writing space. Maybe I should make this clear: this is my blog. A dear friend of mine, Anthony, usually says one word when asked, say, what kind of sandwich he is eating: mine. Or you might say, What kind of jacket is that? And he is quick to say, mine. We get a good laugh at this, since he is joking, but the truth is that sometimes you do have to be clear about ownership, certain about boundaries.
So right, this blog is mine; a place where I air my thoughts, tell my stories, and relate life as I see it. I am not a politician trying to smooth talk her way to the polls; I will not be asking for your vote now or anytime soon. Nor am I a scientist. Most of the time I have not researched much of anything very extensively; I have not taken a census nor have I averaged out anything to find the mean. I do hypothesize, sure, but I do not usually present my hypothesis as a conclusive fact. Or at least I try not to.
I simply relate my experiences, the way I see them.
Which is what happened in Cleveland. My experience was a tough one and I am sorry if that offends you. My friends' lives were threatened. I felt unsafe. I saw drug deals out in the open. We had to be shepherded by an armed security guard from the theater to our respective hotels at night.
This is not to say that someone else might go to Cleveland and not have a wonderful time--I have heard the Rock N Roll hall of Fame is awesome, the Art Museum one of the best.
But my time in Cleveland was rough and I hope that the city gets safer and fills its abandoned buildings with good things.
With that said, I will say that rude anonymous commentors do not hold much weight with me. I liken them to a terrorist sniper who simply shoots from the shadows but does not have the courage to reveal themselves or let their words be given the strength of their name.
Sure, I find them interesting. But I also find them cowardly.
Right, so now that we're clear...Thanks so much for stopping by and I really mean that. I love the fact that you find what I write about my life to be interesting at all; it means a lot to me. But please realize that I will be frank in describing my life the way that I see it. Because, remember?
This is my blog.
22 comments:
That's my girl . . .
Oh, and I've been to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. It was pretty cool.
Well said. I have to say, you didn't really say much about Cleveland. Especially compared to some other people's facebook statuses while they were there!!!
And while I absolutely LOVE LA, I get that there are parts of town, and places where people might live, that are not as great as my experience. I'm sure Cleveland has good sections, but it probably needs to hire more police. NYC and other major cities dramatically increased their law enforcement presence and their crime rates PLUNGED.
I just don't think that anyone deserves to be criticized for what they write in THEIR blog..
I'm also sorry that Cleveland.. well.. was Cleveland. I mean like you said there are good things about it but the fact that A)you felt unsafe or B)cast members were held up at gunpoint.
Besides.. you need to be in NYC anyway :)
Does seem like those OSA meetings are paying off for you! I'm so happy to hear that you feel strongly about not censoring yourself (though I didn't think that what you said was offensive) and that you aren't letting stuff said by random strangers bother you too much. Actually, if you think about it, I pretty much fit in that category too, but I'm a huge fan in the Jessica Rocks Club. We are all loving your blog, and I'm glad that you remember that it's for YOU.
You go girl!! Very well put! Your comments are honest and open, frank, but not mean-spirited...good for you, Jess!
Yay! I love reading your blog and think that if other readers don't have something nice to say they can find another blog to read while having their morning coffee-- yep, your blog, cnn, and people.com are my morning musts! Glad you are liking Toronto better!
I moved to Clevand from New York 2 years ago...and have never felt so unsafe in a city. Your opinion of Cleveland is very correct. It is a poor desperate city that really needs help...sadly there seems to be none in sight.
For the record, I know this is your blog and this is my last post… I’m sure you’ll be glad.
You should also know that I assumed it was SO much easier to hit “anonymous” in Blogger than to try and create a profile – so that’s why I did that – I wasn’t trying to be “cowardly” as you note, but whatever. At the same time, had I put “David” – that’s me – I’m sure the regulars on this board (Jenna, Drew, etc…) would have wondered “who the heck is this?”
More about me - I was born in 1966 in Indiana –one of 5 children. Between about 1980 and 1992, I saw at least a half dozen versions of the national tour of “A Chorus Line” – including several original cast members – and even Nicholas Dante, the author, as Paul. In 1994, I was one of the founders of a national theater magazine, still going strong now. (This is to establish my interest in theater and the show – another reason I was so outraged by what your troupe went through last week…)
In 1990, I got married. In 1997, I moved to Cleveland.
In October 2008, my daughter attended a workshop which one of your cast members was good enough to attend. Very nice of them. In getting background on that cast member, I stumbled upon your blog.
Last week, I read your blog on Cleveland and was livid that such things were happening in our town – and frankly was concerned about your general impression of our town – not because I disagreed – but because I hate that’s the impression the town is leaving and that that’s what’s going on here. Our city leaders needed to act quickly, I thought, so I decided to try and do something about it.
I wrote a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noting my outrage to the situation and quoting your negative, but true, blog thoughts (though not your name or any link to your blog), which was not published. I sent an email to the head of our PlayhouseSquare tours, expressing my concern over what happened to your cast – and trying to ensure that she was aware and would try and save things before they got worse. (This is Gina “the Italian” that you noted in your blog. I’m sure she’s not so happy with me either…)
Somewhere in the mix, the paper realized this was newsworthy and decided to write the story they did yesterday – likely based on the info I provided. The radio picked up on it. Your name was used though I’d never mentioned it or given your blog info. Names were called on the radio. I posted what they said, for better or worse. You gave me the smackdown… (I struggle to see why you think I’m criticizing your comments about Cleveland – they’re TRUE… I’m on your side on this… but want our city to DO something about it…)
October 2008 update – you’re in Toronto. Enjoy yourself. Absolutely make time to go to the greatest restaurant on the planet --- open very early and very late - http://www.richtree.ca/ - Richtree - go to the one at 42 Yonge St. – NW corner of Yonge and Bay.
Break a leg (don’t break MY leg).
Note to Anonymous~ you are brave because you live in Cleveland and are willing to write letters and do something about things that should be questioned! Thank you for taking the situation seriously and caring about what happened to the ACL actors. It's clear from your posts that you are not the attacker in this case but you're on jessica's side. Thank you!
DAVE!?? Who the heck is this?
I can't handle it!
hey i didn't write that last comment.
Ash--thanks a mil! that means so much, truly!!!
Dear Dave--I am truly sorry for giving you the smackdown--I misunderstood your intent. Please forgive me. I thought that you were rejoicing that I was called a twit on public radio because somewhere in the comment you left, from what I recall, you said, "cool, Jessica was called a twit on the radio..."
I was wrong, you were obviously just letting me know--not rejoicing over the name calling.
And no, I am absolutely NOT glad to know this was your last post on my blog--please visit and post as often as you want (esp, now that I know your rich history, which you were so kind to share;)).
That article that cites my blog does not bother me so much; their quotes of what I wrote was true. I do hope that the the mayor and other officials decide to make the place safer. From hearing your comments and meeting others there--it's obvious that there are some stellar people in that city.
And I ate at Richtree just yesterday with a friend--it was delicious!! Thanks for the recommendation;-)
And thank you for, as you put it, being on my side in this...Seriously, please post here whenever you want.
Hey--that last comment was, me--Jessica--sorry about that!!!
Anonymous person has bad taste, makes rude comment. News at Eleven!
Anonymous,
You're a jerk. Stop wasting our time with your ignorant posts. They'll continue to be deleted until you can actually bring something of value to this blog.
Hear, hear!!
Oops! That SHOULD be "here, here!"
Drew - when you address anon, you don't mean Dave, do you?
No--absolutely not--Dave is very well-spoken and not a jerk, at all. Drew is addressing someone who has been leaving inappropriate comments anonymously, that we have been deleting.
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