WINTER WITHOUT DISCONTENT? - by John Herrington

WINTER WITHOUT DISCONTENT?
by John Herrington
WMV Web News Cleveland
Story filed February 13, 1998

It is winter in Greater Cleveland.

But hardly a "winter of our discontent" that so many who continue to live here expect each year, and that those who have fled the "meteorological hell" of the North Coast will believe. "Nice day," the sales clerk says.

"Yes," the customer replies. "We've had a lot of pretty nice days lately."

"Yes," the salesperson says, and then shakes his head. "I just know we're going to get clobbered."

The customer nods agreement, pays for her purchase and leaves the store, looking briefly upward to a grey, winter-appearing sky, but realizing that the coat she's wearing is heavier than she really needs on a day that may look like, but not feel like winter.

The pointer on the outdoor thermometer is at 50 degrees.

The calendar on the wall next to the telephone indoors shows that it is mid-February.

On the last page of section two of the daily paper, the weather forecast is for a week of temperatures in the upper 30s and low-to-mid-40s with a chance of rain here and there, and maybe a snow shower.

It is strange: November, then December, and on into January, and now February...and it's as mild a winter as many can remember. But, with every mention of how unusual all this is, comes the accompanying warning that "we're gonna' get clobbered."

And, if we do?

Then, so be it.

"The trumpet of a prophecy!
O, Wind, if winter comes can spring
be far behind?"

"Ode to the West Wind"--and such a comforting thought after a bitter winter...but, hey--suppose, just suppose that the poetry of Percy Bysshe may be mocked this season by a continuation of mild (by the standards of other winters) days.

After all, that "El Nino" guy is still around! "El Nino" has been blamed for a lot of bad weather happenings; perhaps "the son" should get some at-least polite applause from those of us who are not (so far) going through what we frequently experience in these months of some profound "discontent."

(And having said that, apologies to all the ski resort types, and to the sellers of snowblowers, shovels, etc., and to those who invested big bucks to put plows on front of their trucks to move the white stuff around, and to anyone else who depends on nasty weather for at least part of a livlihood.)

There are other "odes" out there to herald the springtime:

The Indians have opened camp in Florida! (Never mind the speculation about "THIS" being "THE YEAR" for the world championship; there'll be pounds of newsprint and volumes of vocal offerings from various media forms in the weeks to come.)

Shipping already has begun on the Great Lakes. The 1997 season just ended in late January, but the weather is so mild that a cement-loaded freighter left Milwaukee, Feb. 10. That's full three weeks earlier than the beginning of shipping last year. (Still, most vessels will not set out so soon; it'll be early next month, the Lake Carriers' Association says, before most of the fleets leave winter layup sites.)

Amusement parks already are advertising positions they have open for the coming season, and are ballyhooing new attractions:

Cedar Point will have its 300-foot high "Power Tower" ready. The rider goes up and down with legs dangling out in the open at speeds up to 50 mph!

(An interesting aside to this new ride at The Point: among rollercoaster watchers out there--their number is legion!--there was great speculation last year that a new coaster would be the new Cedar Point ride. The coaster-folk even labled the project CP98 and anticipated 1)--a 200-foot-tall, sit-down coaster with 10 inversions that would travel at 70 mph+...2)--something called a B+M prototype with a 200-foot vertical drop...3)--not one, but two new rollercoasters (so that Cedar Point would not have the superstition-13 number of coasters).)

There will be a new rollercoaster at Geauga Lake: "Serial Thriller." It's a $10-million, 10-story-high beast of a thing that has seven inversions. The amusement park report says that this kind of "suspended looping rollercoaster" is so rare that only eight parks in the U.S. now operate them. This will be Geauga Lake's fifth coaster. Geauga Lake had record attendanced last year (1.3-million visitors) and "Serial Thriller" may add to that figure.

Premier Parks, Inc., bought Geauga Lake in 1966 and has spent more than $30-million to renovate the place. Premier now plans a whopping-big move to greater growth: a $1.9-billion deal with Time Warner Entertainment and that company's partner for the Six Flags chain of theme parks. The cash-stock agreement, if everything works out, will give Premier total equity ownership of Six Flags for $965-million and a debt load assumption of $890-million.

Premier then will be the country's number 2 operator of parks (just behind Walt Disney Co.). Premier will add 12 Six Flags parks to its current stable of 13 parks. Premier also will get the rights to use Time Warner cartoon characters.

So, in answer to the most-oft-asked question of that 'Wascally Wabbit': that's "What's up, Doc."

And one thing more on the subject of springs and summers and baseball and ships and parks and stuff: there is more and more talk (and it's only talk, so far) about a big, new Convention Center plan. Big ticket items are the center, itself, new hotels, restaurants, entertainment and shopping areas. But in the overall developmental scheme of things, there is, tucked into one corner of North Coast Harbor, a space designated as "carousel site."

When Cleveland Tomorrow bought the old Euclid Beach Carrousel (yep; two "r's" in the original), that was the plan: restore it, preserve it and present it back to the people as a year-round attraction at a harbor site.

The Carrousel was built in 1909 and was a fixture at Euclid Beach Park. Euclid Beach was in operation for 58 years; it closed in 1969.

(All of this is enough to send one back to his library for another look at such works as "Euclid Beach Park is Closed for the Season," and "Euclid Beach Park, a Second Look," and "Cedar Point" and other amusement park books about the past of parks that are, were, and in some cases, are no more. Those publications and more are available at http://www.apbooks.com)

There is still another winter-spring-changeover event out there: The Chili Open...that annual (this is the seventh year for it) golfing exercise in challenge to the environment (and never mind questions about the challenge to the mentalities of the participants).

It happens in late February (it's the 21st of the month this year at Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea). In past years, it has been played in snow and on ice (and that's the way it's supposed to happen)...but, what if...what if this mild weather contiues...or even improves?

It could be just another golf outing (perhaps played in muck and mire), and that would be a shame...wouldn't it?

And, like everyone asks: "We are gonna' get clobbered, aren't we?"