Cleveland – Page 3 – Shelley Shockley's Views from Collinwood

Fantastic Friday to begin 5 on Friday!

This has been a Fantastic Friday, and I’m so happy to join the ladies over at Reflection of You had decided to bring this link-up party back to life. They have added a new twist – no longer do you have to share just Facts, but you can share five of ANY little thing you want!

When I received the notice, my plan was to use this opportunity to catch up on some of the photos I have taken in recent weeks, but then my telephone starting ringing and I had to change things up a little.

So here are my 5 on Friday:

1. As I have mentioned here, and here I have been working on organizing a Help-Portrait event in Cleveland. Not a simple task I must say, but I decided to persevere and boy has it paid off! I now have three organizations really excited about taking part in this worthwhile project! The glee has to be tempered just a little because there are always challenges, but I am ever so grateful to the agencies that have shown some interest!

2. I have joined the annual Nanowrimo this year, and although I am behind schedule I am proud to say that I have officially completed 2200 words! That’s only a drop in the bucket, but that’s the furthest I have gotten in three years!

3. I am grateful to the City Mission, in particular, Laura’s Home for their interest in Help-Portrait Cleveland.

4. I am grateful to University Settlement for their interest in Help-Portrait Cleveland

5. I am also grateful to the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland for their interest in Help-Portrait Cleveland.

So, have a great weekend, and as always,

~Enjoy!

The Frankenstorm reaches into northeast Ohio

High Waves on Lake Erie — The waves were surging high on Lake Erie today as Cleveland braced for the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

The Writers Block represents at The Nia Coffeehouse

Inspiring. Heart wrenching. Brilliant.

Speaking from the heart and from life, Cleveland’s The Writers Block stood up and represented during the closing session of The Nia Coffeehouse’s 15th year. The Coffeehouse is a gathering of creative souls who come together to share their visions of the world through poetry.

This past Tuesday the group was treated to the words of Cleveland students who are part of The Writers Block and are students at Cleveland’s School of the Arts. Leading the students is accomplished teacher, writer, poet and musician Daniel Gray-Kontar.

Words can’t capture the warmth that filled my heart as I listened to this group of mostly young ladies paint a picture of the world they live in through words. That world is not always a pretty place.

Anger. Frustration. Determination.

Those were some of the common themes. The messages that caused my heart to crumble. I was filled with pride, but I was also filled with shame.

The world in which they have to navigate is not a pretty or friendly place. As adults we must question what we are doing and leaving to them and most importantly WE MUST DO BETTER!

Spoken word instructor and students — Daniel Gray-Kontar and students from The Writers Block.

We need more Daniel Gray-Kontar’s in our communities. This is not a battle these children should have to wage on their own.

I applaud Kontar for his commitment to our youth and for showing them a positive way in which to channel their feelings. If you have the opportunity to hear these extremely talented students please do, and let’s all begin to LISTEN to what our children are saying and work HARDER to make the world a better place for future generations.

Pictured above are only a few of the students…more photos to come at a later date.

I can’t close without offering gratitude to Vince Robinson and Cavana Faithwalker for leading the charge and giving poets a place to express themselves through The Nia Coffeehouse.

Enjoy!

Help-Portrait Cleveland coming together!

After a week of feeling dejected and considering dashing my plans to help bring a smile to some Clevelanders through the Help-Portrait project I can breathe the proverbial “sigh of relief.”

Meeting number three was productive and I can see a successful project in the future. With a small group of committed women we worked through my anxiety and pledged to move forward.

Ladies on a mission — Grateful to these ladies for restoring my faith in the Help-Portrait Cleveland project. Seat (l-r) Stephanie Briggs and Angela Townsend. Standing (l-r) Bele’ Wondwossen, Keshia Johnson and Angela Tucker.

I am so grateful to these ladies and a few others who urged me to push forward and have faith that everything would come together! I am also grateful to Kat Sloma for planting the seed that will blossom into a day of giving back to the community.

We still have a lot of work to do, but I feel in my heart it will happen, so if you would like to join us in adding a bit of light into the lives of others visit the Cleveland community page here.

Enjoy!

Navy Week in Cleveland & Blue Angels

The Labor Day weekend and the week preceding it were very busy in Cleveland as the U.S. Navy anchored along Lake Erie to offer residents and visitors a peak into what life is like for Sailors.

Blue Angel flies over Cleveland Browns Stadium — A Blue Angel does a fly-over Cleveland Browns Stadium – Cool isn’t it!

The Week was held in conjunction with the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, which was only fitting if you recall the Battle of Lake Erie and around these parts there are a number of landmarks to remember Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry who led the naval victory.

US Navy Blue Angels — Navy Blue Angels in formation over the skies of Cleveland.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll feature photos from that action packed week in this space. Today I thought I’d share the first video I created with my camera and a couple of shots of the Blue Angels, however because of space limitations I can’t embed, but you can see it here.

Enjoy!