So here are a few things I learned after spending a week in Cleveland.
- The Cuyahoga River, which winds through downtown, caught fire in 1969 because it was so choked with pollution. That, among other things, let Cleveland to get the nickname “the mistake by the lake.” But no more. Cleveland has a vibrant downtown filled with restaurants and shops. It’s a town I’d like to visit again when I have more time to be a tourist.
- I spent about two hours at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a story I wrote. I could have spent two days.
- We love to talk about how big Lake Lanier is. But it’s no Great Lake. Lake Erie is huge, and it was amazing to what the large cargo ships travelling it.
- My mother was concerned about my safety in Cleveland. She’d heard the stories about how many protesters were supposed to be in Cleveland. But it turns out I was probably in the safest city in the world last week. You could walk a block without seeing police officers. In fact, there were more police officers than protesters.
- I even met three Georgia State Patrol troopers who were keep watching on Euclid Avenue, where many of the street vendors had set up and were selling all kinds of t-shirts, hats and buttons.
- Security was tight, tight, tight. Each morning, as we entered the secure zone, we went through a heavy screening, even though by the last day, we were on a first name basis with the Secret Service agents doing the screening. They removed all the drives and the battery from my computer. They went through my wallet and every pocket of my briefcase. We had to walk through a metal detector and stand with our hands out while an agent scanned us with a wand.
- The media shuttle, which ran from the convention center, which was the media headquarters, to the Quicken Loans Arena, where the convention was held, has a Secret Service agent on board.
- We saw a vivid demonstration of why you don’t mess with a Secret Service agent. One night the shuttle leaving the arena was delayed a few minutes because on an incoming motorcade. This didn’t bother most of us. But one guy got a little mouthy with the agent. To his credit, the agent played it cool. But when the guy wouldn’t shut up, the shuttle was suddenly surrounded by a dozen agents and the troublemaker was unceremoniously removed.
- I spent an afternoon at the house from “A Christmas Story.” The house is now a tourist attraction, complete with the museum and gift shop. But it’s right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. So a foundation was created to give grants to neighbors to fix up their homes – add new siding, replace windows, expand. After my story appeared on AccessWDUN, someone in North Georgia wrote a check to the foundation. It’s nice to know that something you write can have an effect on someone.
- People ask me my favorite moment. Was it meeting Carl Bernstein? Brokaw? Rather? Those were thrilling moments to be sure. But I’ll probably most remember being on the floor for Donald Trump’s acceptance speech and the iconic balloon drop.
- You’ve probably never thought about it, but when someone drops 150,000 balloons and 1,000 pounds of confetti on you, you end up almost waist deep in balloons.
- I wish I were in Philadelphia.
