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Letter of the week.
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From: DrumBus1-at-netscape.net
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 8:40 PM
To: bob.nosal@Grubb-Ellis.com
Subject: please read this email concerning brady's cafe
Dear Sir,
I am a forty-eight year old 30 year Kent resident and a 25 year employee of Kent State University, also my alma mater. Through the years, Brady's Cafe has been an integral part of my life and in the lives of my two grown children. I am also a musician, as are my children musicians. My daughter is also a poet who reads at the Cafe's poetry readings.
The three of us are a small sampling of many of Kent's residents who frequent Brady's Cafe. There is no other place in this community for the creative, mostly younger people to congregate.
Personally, some of my fondest memories are of playing music in this unique venue, of going there for breakfast every day while a student at KSU, and of getting to know so many amazing people there.
I urge you to please reconsider terminating the lease for Brady's. I believe that would harm this community gravely. Kent is a tight knit community of some rather loosely wound individuals who will not let this eviction happen without some very bizarre and creative demonstrations which will not reflect favorably on Grubb-Ellis. I assure you that an economic boycott of your businesses in northeast Ohio will occur. The
media is involved now and this will continue.
The sad part is that the youth of this town are going to be the ones to suffer. What does this say about the consciense of your corporation in these troubled times? Please show this community you are an asset, as you well could be. As owners, you could do so much good by improving the property and supporting the nurturing environment the Cafe offers. I believe Kent City Council would support the continued existence of Brady's.
Aren't there grants to be had which could defray your expenses? The public realations benefits would be major. With some work, the Brady's Cafe building could remain as a community and youth center for years to come.
Please act not only on the basis of the bottom line.
There is a deep sadness in this town about losing Brady's. Thanks for listening to my take on the matter.
Sincerely,
Mark Bussinger
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Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 14:51:03 -0400 From: andrea bussinger <abussing-at-kent.edu> To: <savebradys@yahoo.com> Subject: farewell to the Brady To the Brady and its People: The memory of my first visit to Brady's Cafe is long buried by subsequent visits and the deepening impression it has left on me through the years. So rather than start at the beginning, I'll start at the end.
The last time I went to Brady's was on June 20, 2002. My companion, John, and I had just said goodbye to our families, about to embark on a six-week American road trip to Arcata, California, where I'm writing you now. I'd never been away from Kent for more than a two-week vacation. I was (more than) a little weepy, but I knew it was my time to push off from shore for a while. After running some errands, we made our last top at
Brady's to get "one more cup of coffee for the road". The door was locked; a sign said "will reopen at 5:00". It was only 1:00, but already time to hit the highway. I took one last peek inside, conscious that I might never see the square tables and rickety chairs that way again.
At that point a spark of hope was emerging that Brady's might not shut down, after all. The new landlord hadn't said anything either way, and summer events had been planned with cautious optimism. Still, the people tied to the Brady had begun to learn the language of deceit and mistrust.
It was not until early August, checking my email at the Humboldt State University library, that I read in a letter from Katherine Willis: "Brady's is closing at the end of August." I managed to stay numb in regards to this news until Friday morning. I woke up by a creek in the Redwood National Forest, and somehow -- perhaps because there were no people around me, no new community as distraction -- I broke down, right among the old-growth forest. I was overwhelmed with hatred and fear -- that a
faceless developer could take away what had been the pulse, the glue, the center of many lives ni Kent, for so long nobody could really say -- just because they had money. And disbelief, too, that the inhuman forces of profit were affecting mmy life so deeply. For too much of the day, my mind churned with revenge fantasies: boycotts, hate-mail, condemning letters to local newspapers. Although I would never participate in
vandalism, I imagined the satisfaction I wuld feel to see "Corporate Thief" scrawled on the dark, lifeless windows at the corner of 59 and Lincoln. It took a huge effort to replant myself int he present -- I was hiking through groves of huge redwood trees.
After much reflection, here's what I really want to say to all of the Brady's people. You have a right to be very, very sad. Almost any other way would have been better than to have the Brady taken from us without our consent. This is not a natural end; this will leave a scar of resentment and fear on the face of Kent (along with the disappearances of
Cat's Impetuous Books, the Kent Cinema, the Zephyr, Time Traveler, Archer's...have I forgotten anything?). What kind of place will Kent be in the future? Can we stand to see one more local business go under, one more chain drug store come up? Where will kids play their original music on Wednesdays? Where will the poetry readings be held? Where can you sit under the eaves with the window open, studying, writing, sketching or talking with a cup of Brady's Blend warming your hands and mind?
On the other hand, we should look for the treasure in the ruins, or the "silver lining". For instance, Bonny has been wanting to go back to school. And I think we should be open to change in a broader sense, too. As I had to scoldingly convince mmyself, Brady's is not the only battle. To become lodged in our passionate struggle to save the Brady, in which the only outcomes are victory or despair, is to risk losing sight of many potential
possibilities. It's like the little kid who won't take care of any dog because he has lost the original one. We have to keep ourselves open. Without the Brady, we'll all be the same creative individuals, witht he power to find new venues for Open Mic Nights, Shindigs and Poetry Readings-- which are, after all, just excuses to be together.
That said, I feel terrible that I am so far away. If I could be in Kent on August 31, I would come in to have one last Brady's Blend, to see Bonny, Andy and Helena, to help clean up and pack up. I think I'd even start a petition to boycot whatever business will go into the building, since profit is Grubb & Ellis's only priority. But there's a beautiful, thriving
communityin Arcata for me to become a part of. Like the hippy bumper stickers say, "find what you love/ love what you find". Local businesses here are in no danger at all (there are three charming cafes, none of which feel quite as home-like as Brady's) but there are battles to fight, mostly for the trees, rivers and wildlife. So with great sadness, I have
to say a distant farewell to Brady's Cafe, a place which raised me as much as my parents did, gave me space to discover who I was and ultimately, to realize my small-town limitations.
Those of you who are actively fighting for the Brady, I wish you all the luck in the world. But if you're there when its doors close for good, I hope you will tell each other what it meant to you, and remember those rickety roundback chairs, the white piano, the chandeliers on the cieling that glimmer like a 50's Christmas tree, the cast-iron beams joining two sides of the loft, the heat of Brady's Blend in your cup and throat, the taste
of Bonny's vegetable chili or stirfry with "Brady's spice", what it was like when you saw the Black Hole Jokers, Lost, This megaphone, Lone Rider, Over the Rhine, Angie Heimann, Lynne Taylor, or whoever you saw, Maj Ragain cranking up the Jawbone every May, the poetry on the bathroom walls, thousands of voices, thousands of feet, thousands of cups of coffee ... that's how it was.
Lots of love, luck, and gratitude,
"My poems have kept me in myself, which was the greatest gift to me, that
now I surrender back."
-Rumi
"You don't always have to chop with the sword of truth. You can point
with it too."
-Anne Lamott
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To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
From: "Ted Voneida" <tvoneida-at-neoucom.edu>
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 10:06:57 -0400
Subject: Re: [PortageCFRD] Press Release: KENT, OHIO COMMUNITY RALLIES
AROUND LOCAL LANDMARK
Dear Save Brady's Coalition,
We have been in Northern Minnesota all summer, and won't be back until Sept. 3rd. We greatly appreciate the email notes you and others have been sending about Brady's. We are extremely upset with all this, and regret not being there to help in whatever way possible. We will certainly get into the fray the moment we return. Meanwhile, if you see Bonny and Andy, please tell them we are with them in spirit, if not in body. The bodies will be there Sept. 3rd. Thanks for all the time and effort you have put into this. Good heavens, it's always something. Will these bastards ever stop in their rapacious grubbing for more money?
Kindest regards,
Ted and Swanny Voneida
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To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
From: "Rich Patterson" <rpatterson@surfbest.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 03:43:10 -0400
Subject: [PortageCFRD] Capt'n Brady Image and Lore
If anyone wishes to do street theater in the Save Brady's campaign, an image and some (not necessarily politically correct) lore about Brady's namesake, Capt'n Brady is at:
http://members.surfbest.net/rpatterson@surfbest.net/CaptnBrady/CaptnBrady.htm
Rich Patterson
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Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 22:39:27 -0400
From: "Bill Krahling" <krahling-at-loa.com>
To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mort in Spirit
Dear Friends of Brady's...
I 'm adding a few words to those of Judy Platz--& others--about Brady's on
behalf of Mort Krahling.
My brother Mort was a resident of Kent from 1967 until his death Dec. 11, 1998, at age 54. He was an undergraduate newspaper editor, radio announcer, graduate assistant, activist, community store worker, antique picker, bartender. He was always a poet, publishing 3 chapbooks & preparing a 4th at the time of his death.
Mort was one whose voice was heard often at the Brady's readings. Brady's was very much a necessary part of his life & soul...a place to share the wonder of words & ideas, a place to be with others committed to poetry as artists & audience, a place of common ground for the generations of poets passing through its doors.
If Mort Krahling were living, he'd be there joining the fight to save Brady's. He probably would have scribbled a number of poems about Brady's in his distinctive fine andwriting on cigarette pack paper he had opened & smoothed. I'm sure he is with you in spirit.
Best wishes for success in saving Captain Brady's.
Cheers Most Sincerely,
Bill Krahling
krahling-at-loa.com
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Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 08:13:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Charlie Charles" <thedisappointed-at-yahoo.com>
To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
Hi, this is Dan Mucha (not Charlie Charles).
I grew up in Hudson, lived at Brady's and now I'm stuck in L.A. I can't believe the news...please let me know what I can do to try to save Brady's- phone calls etc. (I DO plan on phoning the real estate office). Is there a number I can call to put my two cents in about registering Brady's as a national landmark?
Keep fighting the good fight, have strength and courage.
Dan
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Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 23:41:39 -0500
Subject: Re: Brady's
From: Andy Cohen <info-at-riverlarkmusic.com>
To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
Hey Dave,
I will write something over the next few days. If there is a way to make those [expletive deleted] at Grubb & Grabb look like what and who they are, I will find it. Tell everybody I love 'em, and that my heart is with them, win or lose. I have their number and their web address, so I will do what I can in that way. To the Barricades! Andy ********************************* Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 10:12:08 -0400 From: Judy Platz <platzj-at-pivot.net> To: <savebradys@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Save Brady's Coalition news, Thursday, 8/22] Hello Everyone--- Wow! Look what can happen in 12 years, well that is the last time I read poety at "Captain Brady's". Yep, I'm an "ole" alumni from the 1970's and have wonderful memories of it as a cultural icon of Kent! We used to meet at Shelly's Bookstore to read and when that folded, we began more formal readings at Captain Brady's. My daughter, Lynne Taylor, grew up coming to Captain Brady's and now has her own musical career that she brings back to Brady's (along with her children) when she is in the area. So really, Brady's has served three generations as a cultural mecca.
It is a "necessary" hub of activity for the area for artists of all stripes, sizes and influences and certainly needs to be preserved!! "Yes" to an Ohio state historic registry!! Has to be done!! Important!!
We artists have few 'places' we can call homespots and for so many of us, Kent and Captain Brady's is it!
Here in the Maine woods, I think of Kent and Captain Brady's often remembering the acceptance and largesse diversity of cultural influences always welcomed there. There are few places like Captain Brady's--so necessary for artists and for us all!!
The following poem of mine was read at Brady's by Maj Ragain, I believe, at a memorial gathering of Mort Krahling's friends.
Markers
for Mort Krahling (1944-1998)
brother Bill and poets everywhere
The mystery is
that we are still here at all-
still beating our owl wings
under curved moon;
star-nose moles digging, digging
in the dark, toward light
bones, teeth, bits of hair to identify the others-
words left behind on pages for channel markers
in the deep ocean of soul;
our temporal homes that see us invisible
with pen and hand and paper to create
artifacts, for those yet who will search.
The journey unrelenting, absolute;
but look! Seed tendrils walk beside us
in damp darkness
toward the light, always toward the light.
Judy Platz
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Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 10:03:12 EDT
From: AHLIBBIE-at-aol.com
To: bob.nosal@Grubb-Ellis.com
Subject: STOP!!!!
To Grub Ellis and To Whom It SHOULD Concern,
Today at noon, there will be one of a series of protests in front of Brady's Cafe in Kent, Ohio. We, the citizens of Kent Ohio and students of Kent State University are protesting Grubb Ellis and their predatory practice of forcibly trying to turn this corner and it's historical character into yet another lemming in the unending procession of mindless, artless chain stores.
I know you don't care about character, but Kent citizens do, and they are coming out of the woodwork, calling the newspapers and tv stations to show YOU that Brady's is an important meeting place for them and has been for a long, long time.
Please develop WHERE AND WHEN the community wants you to. Please think about ASKING them first. Please give Brady's back to Bonnie and go back to wherever it is you came from.
Sincerely,
Amy Hanmer
Portage Green Party
KSU Green Party
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 21:27:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bill Glazer <billglazer-at-yahoo.com>
To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
Subject: Brady, of course
David,
Your emails are welcome. Will Grubbs and Eels really take siege of the Brady? To quote Gandhi, "I don't know if there is a place for me in this world." Meaning, the blinding, entrancing mechanism that apparently has a numbing hold on an ever growing
number of us, yes us, is overwhelming--even to souls with high degrees of enlightenment like Gandhi. Dignity is our highest ally.
We're being homogenized here! Akron, Akron, everywhere must be the spiritless choking motto of Grubbs and Eels' Ohio contigent. Akron, like the Blob. Homogenized (a matter of relativity)--what is the impurity that is being eradicated.....erased? Why, it's
the Brady. The Brady--which stands for community, freedom, free speech, glee and happiness, good times, conversations--meaningless (very important) and highly
meaningful (almost as important), poetry, music, embracement of the unique and individual, encouragement of all the above, ad infinitum along this theme.
Starbucks, Arabica? The soul of Sheetz in a very chic cloak is all. What will be our fate?
I'm asking my family for help with potential contacts, who else can we really lean on in times of national emergency? You'll be seeing and hearing from me. My grandpa turns 86 years saturday, can't miss.
Good luck at the Brady.
Always in spirit, Bill
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 18:35:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joy E. Silverhart <joyouspix-at-yahoo.com>
To: <savebradys@yahoo.com>
Subject: Fwd: Save Captain Brady's ! ! ! !
Save Brady's! ! It brings back many memories when I was a graduate student at KSU in the Seventies. Sometimes "PROGRESS" is not in the best interests of a community.
I would agree that another gas station or whatever, should not replace "Captain Brady's". Actually, I think, Kent City could do more to stop this. I generally get very sick of people who buy up property that is historical in nature and then build a basically ugly structure which, in turn, will be torn down in a few years when the business doesn't make it. For example, please observe all of the gas stations with mini-marts built in the Seventies; and the pharmacies built in the Nineties; which are now empty! eyesores standing like ghostly reminders of someone's idea of PROGRESS. This should be a lesson to these IDIOTS !!!
Joy E.Silverhart
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Date: Thurs, 22 Aug 2002 From: Alaina Feltenberger <alainauep-at-hotmail.com> To: <corporatecommunications@grubb-ellis.com> Subject: Concern about your Cleveland branch To the responsible upper management of Grubb & Ellis, I am a resident of Kent, OH, and I just learned that the Cleveland branch of your company has recently bought up one of the most historical and coveted sites in our small community. I am speaking of Brady's Cafe, in Kent OH, on the corner of Rt. 59 and Lincoln. This building has been here for over 90 years and the current business has been here since 1986, before the Cleveland branch of your company was even established. We (the residents of Kent, customers of Brady's, and members of the Save Brady's Coalition) have been told that the business owners have been given 30 days as of the 1st of August to leave. This eviction has come with no warning or community input. We are shocked at this, as Brady's is still a thriving business in our community, and we are concerned that the building itself will be torn down. We are applying to preserve the building on the National Register of Historic Places.
A great concern and disappointment is that your associates at the Cleveland branch have been so evasive and uncommunicative. Each time we attempt to contact them to discuss the issue of Brady's, we are swiftly rebuked. The entire transaction under which the property of Brady's was purchased was kept such a secret that none of the members of the community had time for comment. This is why I am addressing this email to the
overall company of Grubb & Ellis: you may want to reconsider how David Bruening and the Cleveland branch are portraying your company name in Northeast Ohio. You come off as a cold, money-grabbing company that has no concept whatsoever as to what is good for the community of Kent. Even men in big corporations have places that they call home. Well, to us, Brady's is our home- we do not intend to let it be torn away without a fight.
And, by fight, let me clarify that I do not mean the use of slander or various backhanded means. We wish to proceed as reasonable people and attempt to compromise (perhaps a new concept to your Cleveland associates). We would like you to offer the business owners of Brady's Cafe a lease. We would like to show you how profitable that venue still is, without tearing it down or replacing it with a faceless chain coffeehouse or restaurant which would destroy the integrity of Kent. We are proud of our small businesses, we are proud of our local history, and we are proud of the diverse opportunities for the arts which exist at Brady's, and you, Grubb & Ellis, are attacking us on all fronts. Let me assume that behind the face of this big corporation there are passionate people who sympathize with this situation, which is so important to Kent
citizens. If you do not want to keep Brady's Cafe, please sell the property to someone else who will.
Sincerely,
Alaina Christine
Please feel free to contact me at alainauep@hotmail.com or by phone
330-283-9596,
or contact the Save Brady's Coalition at 330-620-4697,
savebradys@yahoo.com
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