A couple of globe-trotting couples were surprised by my recent column about a Kent man who encountered someone in Spain who had never heard of LeBron James.
They rushed forward to vouch for LeBron’s European presence.
Bob: Your recent column about LeBron not being known well in Europe? Here is a picture we took in 2014 of some graffiti in a tunnel coming down from Castel San Pietro in Verona, Italy.
Thought you might enjoy.
Brian and Valerie McKeighen
Wadsworth
Brian and Valerie: I did enjoy. Still do. That’s why I’m sharing. Grazie.
Mapping it
Bob: My husband and I are fans of LeBron James.
Last October, we traveled to Vienna, Austria, to hear our world renowned Cleveland Orchestra play several concerts there.
While sightseeing around the Ringstrasse, Bill walked up to a street vendor for a midafternoon snack. The vendor asked where Bill was from and Bill told him “Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.”
The vendor said he did not know where that was so he turned over the bill and asked Bill to draw a picture of it. Bill drew an outline of the U.S. and put an X where Cleveland would be.
Excitement and lights instantly flashed in the vendor’s eyes and he flailed his arms as he exclaimed, “James! LeBron James!!!”
Judith Guegold
Mantua
Judith: I’ve never heard of someone who didn’t know the name of a city but could identify its position on a fake map. In fact, I’m not sure half the sixth-graders in this country could point to Cleveland on a real map. But when it comes to LeBron, I guess all bets are off.
Danke.
UA’s purge
The celebrations continue after the long-overdue departure of Scott Scarborough, who inflicted more damage at the University of Akron than a neutron bomb.
Literally minutes before the announcement Tuesday, I opened an email from one of the many UA employees who were fired during the Scar’s reign.
The situation she outlined is just another relatively small affront in a long series of affronts to the employees, students and alumni, but it also serves as the perfect illustration of just how tone-deaf Scarborough’s administration has been.
Ten months after Cyndee Snider was fired from the staff of E.J. Thomas Hall, she received a UA watch and a nice (cough) letter from Vice President Larry Burns, congratulating her on her “retirement” and praising her “significant contribution to the mission of the university and the Akron Experience.”
Quite understandably, the Twin Lakes resident was fuming.
“Although I did ultimately retire — obviously not by choice — after 31 years at UA, and an equal number of outstanding annual performance evaluations, I find this final ‘gift’ insensitive, inept and insulting.”
And sloppy and dumb and lots of other words we hope will take a long hiatus in future discussions about UA.
Quick quit
So the CEO of Cleveland Clinic Akron General abruptly announces he is quitting the same day.
Weird. You knew his retirement was on the horizon, but to quit with less than 24 hours’ notice? Even the lowliest of employees usually gives a two-week notice.
So here is the way General’s public relations person, Stephanie York, explained it:
“It wasn’t unexpected. I just think it was a little sooner than expected.”
Huh?
She went on to say he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Guess he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren RIGHT AWAY.
Toilet trauma
Bob: Just when you think you’ve heard and read it all on the subject of cringe-worthy male genitalia stories (e.g. John Bobbitt, et al.), you come across the one in the ABJ’s “In the World” section [on Friday]:
“Python ruins man’s day,” about the Thai man who was using his toilet and had a 10-foot python come through the plumbing and latch on to his private parts for 30 minutes.
I’m assuming here that “ruins man’s day” is a gross understatement. But how do you get that image out of your head?
James Diendl
Stow
James: Well, I’m not sure how one gets that image out of one’s head, but I now have the same problem. Thanks a lot.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31.