As a Clevelander these days, you're white-knuckling it on an emotional roller coaster.

Enjoy the ride, baby!

The Indians (Sept. 17) won the Central Division championship, and that is the climbing part of the roller coaster ride; the rapid drop from that high is yet another ode to the former Cleveland Browns: an open-house of sorts (Sept. 21-22) and an auction (Sept. 24-25)at Cleveland Stadium before the 65-year-old "Grand Old Lady" of stadiums is torn down (probably in November).

More on the Tribe: only hours after the Indians won the title in Chicago, local department stores already were advertising championship merchandise for sale in the morning paper the next day.

And WVIZ-Television, Channel 25, airs its documentary, "The Pride of the Indians," (Sept. 20, at 10:30 p.m., and at 3:30 in the afternoon of the 22nd.) It's the story of Mel Harder, who pitched for the Indians from 1928 to 1947 and then coached for another 20 years. the local husband-wife production team of broadcast journalist and radio-and-television host Bob Becker and writer and video producer Luanne Bole-Becker put the half-hour program together.

For further detail on the program and Harder, go to http://www.cleveland.oh.us/melharder

More on the Stadium goodbye fling: It's open to everyone, but tickets are required. They're free (at Finast stores or by calling 241-6000) It's called "The Final Play" and features the traveling National Football League roadshow, "NFL Experience" that features displays, films, skill activities of the punt, pass, catch and kick variety, and computer games.

There may be a catch in many a throat of fans of the departed football team, but this also could be looked upon as a pre-party for the new Browns, who arrive in 1999.

At the auction, they'll sell everything from seats and turnstiles, fixtures and sports memorabilia, including a Browns flag and what an auction company executive calls the "very nice luxury commode" that was used by Art Modell. He did not take it to Maryland with him. But stadium goal posts are not on the auction list; they apparently did go to Baltimore.

If you want a change from sports locales, try Playhouse Square. Star Plaza, the 38,000-square-foot outdoor gathering and performance park, will be dedicated (Sept. 19) and opened to the public (Sept. 20) at the same time "Cats" is playing the State Theatre (through the 22nd), and when preparations are being made for the return of the hugely popular "Blue Suede Shoes" (Sept. 26-Oct. 6).

The Elvis Presley rock ballet played to sellout crowds this past summer, brought in more than $675,000 to the Cleveland Ballet, and was so popular that the Ballet scheduled this second run of the show before it goes on the road. There's a new "opener" for "Shoes." Ballet Artistic Director Dennis Nahat has choreographed a 19-minute contemporary ballet to electronic music and calls it, "Countdown." It replaces "Quicksilver" as the warmup to "Blue Suede Shoes."

At the Ohio Theatre, newspaper and television movie critics Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert team up in a live appearance (Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.) on "What's Right and Wrong with the Movies." It's a benefit for the 20th anniversary of the Cleveland Film Society.

Over at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the 10-day tribute to Woody Guthrie begins with a special showing of Guthrie family photographs (Sept. 20). Later (Sept. 24-26) there'll be a film festival, educational conference (Sept. 28 at CWRU) and tribute concerts at Odeon in the Flats (Sept. 28) and at Severance Hall (Sept. 29).

Meanwhile, tickets are on sale for Melissa Ethridge's Oct. 11 benefit performance for the Hall of Fame.

With all this happening in so short a period of time, it's altogether possible that the "one" in the first paragraph of this piece will be too busy going from event to event to suffer too much the downdrop of that emotional roller coaster.

Better perhaps, to celebrate with the Indians, enjoy all the events "one" can get to, and just fondly remember the Cleveland Stadium good times and try to forget...well...you know, the other stuff.

OTHER BICENTENNIAL STORIES by John Herrington

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