Skip to main content

Ricky and the Cleveland Browns

During the holiday season, I get to be thinking about family members who have passed on. I lost my sister, Bev, in March, 1997, my dad in September, 2000, my mom in April 2004, and my brother, Allen, in July of 2009. Most people who have read this blog, remember my writings about my brother, Ricky, who passed away in March, 2008. Ricky suffered from neurofibromtosis. He had seizures and had other developmental problems. But he always loved a good joke and had a very memorable laugh.

I was really thinking about Ricky this afternoon, as I watched the Cleveland Browns drop their final game of the season to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ricky was a big sports fan. He became one when I became one. As I posted before, he was my shadow. And being blessed with living in the Cleveland metropolitan area, we rooted for the Cleveland sports teams, primarily the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers. And whatever hockey team represented the area. Ricky became a human sports encyclopedia.

Right after his 41st birthday in 1999, my parents had to make the decision to place Ricky in a nursing home. His caretakers found out he had a love of cartoons and sports. My mom would go up there to visit. The nurses noted that he really loved his cartoons. They could hear him all over the floor laughing. they also knew that they could get the latest scores by going to his room and asking.

In 2003, we transferred Ricky to a nursing home in Rittman, as Kathy and I took over his care, since my mom was in failing health. Everybody knew he had two basic interests: Spongebob Squarepants, and Cleveland sports.Which brings us to the Browns.

Sunday afternoons in the fall, the air of the nursing home would be filled with one thing: Ricky yelling at the television. the Browns had returned to the NFL, or so they say, in 1999. The new stadium was filled to capacity. The play was....crappy to say the least. Cliff Note: This is a trend that continues to this day. Anyway, Ricky bled orange and brown on game day and demanded a quality product. He was your typical Browns fan, and remember that fan is short for fanatic.

Although those around him were amused with his game day involvement, he would promise not to watch another game...until next Sunday. I sometimes think if we could get people in the Browns front office with Ricky's passion, there would have been a couple of Super bowl teams playing in Cleveland by now.

I guess the Browns being as inept as they have been has been good for bringing back some good memories of my little brother.


Comments

Mike Golch said…
You are a good man,thanks for making the point about remembering family.
December 29, 2013 8:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post 800: Time to chat

Hi Guys, It's hard to believe that this is post number 800 for this blog. I started this blog out of my desire to communicate. Since radio and television is becoming more and more automated and less and less personal, I'm glad I made the decision to go in this direction as it has given me many blessings. When I first decided to write my musings, a friend from the radio and television boards who goes by the name of newsnomore, told me not to be discouraged if I didn't get any readers. The fact that I did in the early going made me surprised and grateful that anyone was enjoying what I wrote. I've had people tell me that maybe it wasn't meant for me to ever be in radio, that maybe my calling was blogging. Nowadays I think blogging makes for better two way conversation than terrestrial radio, especially the way I do it, non confrontational. The closest I come from any confrontation is the innocent digs that Pat and I shoot at each other. On an average day I get betwee...
12 comments
Read more

Why?

What I'm posting now is with the blessing of Chelle. Chelle is the cousin of Suzanne's husband, Richard. I had gotten the impression from both of them that they were about as close as sisters. Suzanne had been a friend of mine since I had discovered one of her blogs in July, 2006. We would make reference to each other on our blogs and would have dialogue via email quite a bit. It was no surprise to me that she was friends to many other bloggers as well. I felt it was quite an honor to be held in as high esteem as I was. We even talked to each other on the phone on occasion. I felt as we had known each other for a long time. I also knew that Suzanne was having some personal problems, much of which had to do with a very troubled marriage. I would let her bounce things off me, and I would send her some encouragement. While she was going through some of her marital problems, she made herself available to give me a lift when I needed it. My son was having some problems of his own a...
17 comments
Read more

From a "Battleground State"

I am going to make this one short and sweet. I live in Ohio, in this election season, one of the so called "Battleground states," a state crucial for any candidate presidential hopes. Of course we have had many visits from presidential and vice presidential candidates. Other blogs have dissected both campaigns so I will not. The only questions I have is will the promises made by either of these candidates exclusive to these states be fulfilled, or will they prove only to be hot air?
19 comments
Read more