American History 1988
Chapter 45 - 42 Cleveland

Chapter 45: Chapter 42 Cleveland

"Dean, remember to call back home if anything comes up at school." Aunt Rachel hugged Dean, reluctant to let go, her cheek pressed against his.

"Hey, Rachel, with me around, Dean won’t have any troubles." Leaning against the car door, Peter felt the need to assert his presence.

"Peter, it would be a blessing from God if you don’t cause any trouble for Dean." Aunt Rachel mercilessly brought him down a peg.

"Come on, Rachel, that was just an accident last time." Peter felt his dignity as a father was being seriously overlooked.

"Alright, Dad, Aunt Rachel," Dean, standing between the two, had to interrupt them, "I’m just going to Cleveland for school, which is only 70 miles from Youngstown. It won’t even take an hour with Dad’s driving speed."

"Great! Dean, you really get me!" Only a hundred kilometers per hour, Peter could easily manage it even in his truck.

"Yeah, and then get arrested by the police for speeding again?" Aunt Rachel always knew how to hit where it hurt Peter the most.

"Ok, we need to get going now." Before Peter could retort, Dean had already gone ahead and thrown his luggage into the back seat of the car.

If they continued to indulge in this family-style farewell right here, he was certain that Peter and Aunt Rachel would end up arguing—it had happened countless times before.

Seeing Peter and Dean ready to get into the car, Rachel once again showed a loving glance, "Dean, God bless you."

"Aunt, I’ll come back during the holidays." Dean got into the back seat and waved to them.

Once again, it was Frank driving him back to school, just like when he had picked him up originally.

As for why not let Peter drive? He would have liked to, but both Rachel and Frank vetoed the idea immediately.

C’mon, he was still attending alcohol treatment classes. If he didn’t want to end up in jail again, the passenger seat was his best destination.

Although it was nearly the end of January, the streets of Youngstown were still covered in snow. Dean’s car slowly made its way through the streets, heading towards Mill Creek Park in the south of the city.

Through the foggy windows, Dean could see that every household in the community had a peach tree or an apple tree on their doorstep. From the corner of the street, they stood in rows along the road, like soldiers in formation.

Despite the cold weather, the treetops looked barren and desolate. But the carefully pruned branches showed they were well cared for.

In Youngstown, only the south and west sides still maintained a good community appearance; further north, many houses had exterior walls more mottled than rust.

"A&P supermarket is closing down next month," Peter, who had been gazing out the window, suddenly sat up and focused on McGuffey Plaza not far away.

There were the Woolworth’s diner, McCrory’s five and dime, Hughes Meat Market, Strauss’s department store, and the A&P supermarket that everyone visited.

"Why?" In Dean’s memory, McGuffey Plaza’s shopping center was almost the main hub of life for people in the south side.

"Because there’s no hope left here." Frank explained calmly as he drove, "Without jobs, there’s no consumption. The white population of the south side is migrating westward or simply leaving. Just relying on government welfare checks or food stamps can’t support a shopping center like this. This month it’s the A&P supermarket, next month it might be Strauss’s department store—who knows?"

Under the grey sky, the snow-covered Youngstown seemed to emit a dying groan. It was slowly dying, and Dean felt it.

The car drove onto Interstate 680 near Mill Creek Park, from there it was a straight shot to Cleveland.

"Dean, I heard you’re preparing to transfer, and to Stanford in California?" Frank chatted with Dean while driving.

"Yes, Uncle Frank, they have the nation’s best computer science program there." Dean understood that the future of Price’s List wasn’t in Ohio, and neither was the future of the Internet.

"California, that’s a good place." Frank spoke in a relaxed tone, "At least it’s sunnier there, more tolerable than Ohio. By the way, before you go there, maybe you could talk to Rachel. I think she could give you some special help."

"Aunt Rachel?" Dean was momentarily puzzled by the connection.

Unexpectedly, Peter gave Frank a surprised look, "You’re more generous than I thought, Frank."

Frank just laughed it off, "It’s a good thing Dean can go to college. Look, there aren’t even a million degree holders in the whole of America. As long as Dean becomes one of them, he can find work he loves in any state."

Instead of being pigeonholed into rough jobs like movers or truck drivers like us, or having to hustle in the increasingly shrinking White neighborhoods in the south of the city, he shouldn’t be labeled as ’white trash’ or ’hillbilly.’

Peter silently patted Frank’s shoulder, "Kids really should go farther than us, hell, the Black population in Youngstown is almost matching the White now. I sure as hell don’t want to live next to those ’welfare queens’ who just don’t want to work, total sloths. If one day I have to rely on government welfare checks to get by, I’d rather put a bullet in my own head."

"Haha, Peter, I heard at The Fatal Attraction Bar you were forcibly kissed by a Black woman."

"Mother F*cker! Can we please just drop that?!"

Amidst the laughter, the car whizzed towards its destination, and Dean could already see the tallest building in the downtown Cleveland skyline, the Key Tower.

This skyscraper stands at 288 meters, the tallest in Ohio. Designed as the centerpiece of downtown, it is even now still unfinished.

"Dean, Cleveland’s not bad either. I used to pass through here every day, West Side Market is my favorite when I have some free time; they have pastry shops that’ll make you drool. Of course, the girls are also more enticing than in Youngstown, but sadly, it’s the same as Youngstown in one respect: it’s slowly declining." Seeing the familiar Cleveland sights, Peter couldn’t help but recall the days gone by.

Just look at the size of this city, look at this robust infrastructure, this is what you call a metropolis!

Although Cleveland can’t escape the fate of the Rust Belt, it still has the framework of a metropolis. The downtown population nearing 600,000 and a metropolitan area population of 1.3 million provide much more vibrancy.

Unlike Youngstown with its single-industry structure, Cleveland is renowned not only for heavy industry; arts, healthcare, sports, and finance are major parts of its economy too.

Arriving at the bustling downtown, Dean’s spirits lifted too. A large enough city and sufficient population also meant ample wealth.

Cleveland State University is located east of the Cuyahoga River, which flows from south to north bifurcating Cleveland. The area east of the river is famous for its College Town.

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Art, Conservatory of Music, John Carroll University, and 13 other universities are situated in this region, with Case Western Reserve being the most prestigious private university in Ohio.

Additionally, thanks to its proximity to Lake Erie, Cleveland boasts lush vegetation. Looking out, the entire college town seems hidden among forests, no wonder it also has the nickname "The Forest City."

The car stopped on Chester Avenue, at the entrance to Cleveland State University, and Dean got out carrying his luggage and the packaged Compaq computer.

"Dad, Uncle Frank, I can handle the rest myself." Dean, though not yet familiar with the place, knew enough about the layout of the school to find his dormitory with no problem.

"Alright, Dean, you’re an adult now, and I believe you can handle everything," Peter said optimistically, trusting his son completely.

"Dean, remember to call if you need anything," Frank gestured to him before waving goodbye.

Looking at the drab school buildings, Dean shouldered his backpack and made his way alone towards East 30th Street on the eastern side, where his dormitory was located.

Cleveland State University, while relatively young, is not small in size. It covers an area of 84 acres, that’s about 340,000 square meters.

Dean’s dormitory was near Fenn Tower in the northeast side of the campus, an area with many collective unit buildings.

As someone from an average-income family, Dean naturally chose to apply for school accommodation; he didn’t have the extra money to rent an apartment off-campus.

But speaking of money, Dean’s recent return to Youngstown had been rather profitable.

By exploiting a loophole in the MCI phone company, he had made a total of around 11,000 US Dollars, and Judge Vitte had given him a check for 3,000 US Dollars.

Then there was the overcharge software that reaped 3,800 US Dollars from his landlord, adding up to 17,800 US Dollars, which was Dean’s take for the past month and a half.

Of course, with the website fees and server costs for Price’s List, he also paid nearly 1,500 US Dollars to American Online.

So now, Dean had about 16,000 US Dollars of available funds in his account, his entire asset.

Funds had to be spent carefully; Cleveland was going to be the next target for Price’s List. Compared to Youngstown, there was a qualitative leap in population.

As Dean was deep in thought about his future plans, a familiar figure at the school administration building stopped him. Lifting his head, he saw a brilliant mind underneath a few wisps of gray hair swaying in the cold wind.

"Dean, it’s great to see you here. I’ve received the letter you sent. If it’s no bother, could we have a chat?" Professor Miller, holding his books, smiled at him warmly.

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