Your Town

Today I had the privilege of having lunch (me & like 100 others) with Mr. Al Ratner, co-chairman of the board of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. His forecast for Cleveland was not as positive as I would have liked to hear, but the reality made sense. His main message to us "young" professionals was that Cleveland needed more people, more diversity and with this more positive change would happen. He challenged each of us to bring simply one family to Cleveland and it would make our city a better more prosperous place to thrive.

It was a gorgeous day downtown. The sun was shining, a warm breeze was rolling off the lake and over browns stadium. As I walked to my car I tried to reflect on the poem that Mr. Ratner left each of us with.... it took a bit of searching (thanks Hanna), but I would like to kick off this gorgeous weekend by imparting this poem to each of you.

I hope it speaks to you, like it did to me. Thanks Al! Happy Weekend.



Your Town

If you want to live in the kind of town
Like the kind of town you like,
You needn’t slip your clothes in a grip
And start on a long, long hike.
For you’d only find what you left behind–
There’s nothing that’s really new.
It’s a knock at yourself when you knock your town,
It isn’t the town–it’ YOU.

Real towns are not made of men afraid
Lest somebody else gets ahead.
When everybody works and nobody shirks
You can raise a town from the dead.
And if while you make your personal stake
Your neighbor may make one too,
You can make a town what you want it to be,
It isn’t the town-it’s YOU!

-Unknown