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Hometown heroes do it their way
(by Barbara Christian - October 08, 2009)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Hometown heroes do it their way
Call it a labor of love. because that is exactly what it is.
We're talking about Popcorn Shop owner Dewey Forward's devotion to his sis Chrissy Finnegan. It goes beyond lip service to lip-smacking service.
You see, Chrissy has been fighting breast cancer since 2005, and "Dew," as he is fondly called, wanted to do something to give back to what he calls the cancer community in Cleveland.
So he and his son Dylan and partner Diane Armstrong, along with other Popcorn Shop folks Lucas Pauken and Ashley Stark, came up with cranberry popcorn that is all natural and yummy. "Chrissy Corn" is full of antioxidants. It's also pink, the official color for breast-cancer awareness.
The paybacks are delish. Proceeds from sale of the popcorn will go to the Gathering Place, a place for survivors and friends and family to go for services, therapy and even stress-relieving massage.
This is an especially appropriate time to grab hold of some of this good stuff, because it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Of course, you can get the think-pink Chrissy Corn here at the Popcorn Shop, but it's also available at the Bell Station, all Phoenix coffeehouses, the North Union Farmers Markets on Shaker Square, the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland State University.
Now, here's a tip for the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce. It ought to get a recording of Tim Conway's NPR-aired raves about Chagrin Falls and play it wherever crowds gather for shopping, dining and sightseeing.
Funnyman and movie and TV star Tim Conway (his real name is Tom, the reasons for which are too complicated to get into now) called the local NPR affiliate from Los Angeles for an on-air conference call with Chagrin Valley Little Theatre faithfuls Don Edelman and Pat Mazzarino. Tim was touting not just CVLT, where he's done a turn or two, but his hometown, Chagrin Falls.
The reason for the airwaves get-together is that Tim will return to his roots next year to give a "lecture" on whatever it is he feels like lecturing about. We guarantee it will have you rolling in the aisle. A date has not been set, but we will sure let you know.
Not returning to his hometown, however, is another local hero, Bill Watterson, who most of you know as the creator, writer and artist behind the wildly popular but discontinued comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes."
Bill, who chose to end the adventures of C&H, is the J.D. Salinger of the comic-strip world. He is not so much a recluse as he is a man who just wants his privacy and therefore routinely turns down offers to speak, sign his books or authorize use of his firstborns, characters Calvin and Hobbes.
So Bill will not be present Oct. 17, when the Fireside Book Shop holds a book-release event for the unauthorized biography "Looking for Calvin and Hobbs, the Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip."
Author and literary sleuth Nevin Martell, who dug up a lot of detail on the life and times of the man behind the boy and his tiger, will be there to autograph the book. A crush is expected, so this is a reservation-only event. Call (440) 247-4050 before you go.
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