Bakersfield Observed sends out a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all

 * ... MERRY CHRISTMAS: In this special time of the year, make sure you reach out to all those folks who are struggling with emotional, family or physical issues. There is no better present than the gift of friendship and a soft place to land.

 * ... KIND WORDS: My thanks to Superior Court Judge David Lampe, who dropped me an encouraging note the other day. "The First Amendment is the most profound embodiment of rights we enjoy as citizens. News organizations are absolutely essential to a good society. They are the little angel on our shoulder. I remember the first day on the job as a judge I thought about jaywalking across L Street to the Metro Courthouse. I stopped and went to the light. It will help all of us in our public lives if we stop and think for one minute-- how would this look printed in The Bakersfield Californian?"

* ... BAKERSFIELD OPTICAL: Hats off to Jack and Sharon McGee, owners of Bakersfield Optical who are celebrating 30 years in business. Locally owned family businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and Bakersfield Optical specializes in intimate customer service and value. The store is located at the corner of Oak and 19th streets. And speaking of Jack, he still has the picture, circa 1956, of him sitting on Santa's lap along with twin brother John at Brock's Department store.

 * ... HICKORY FARMS: It's never too late to say 'thank you,' as Vicki Utt reminded me. "At Christmastime in 1969 my husband was a combat infantryman serving in Vietnam and I was waiting at home with our newborn son (Dennis shipped out when our first-born was 2 1/2 weeks old), and Hickory Farms was in Valley Plaza. There was scant public support for our troops at that time, but lots of war protestors. I'll always have a soft place in my heart for Hickory Farms as they had a promotion that the first 100 people who provided an APO address for a soldier in a combat zone would get a free Hickory Farms gift pack shipped directly to the loved one free of charge. I was No. 5 in line early that morning. These days the troops are receiving the respect they so greatly deserve, and the Vietnam veterans are beginning to get their just due as well - but Hickory Farms was the ONLY merchant who reached out in 1969."

 * ... THE DOORS: Charlie Wilmot wrote to correct an earlier post on when the rock band The Doors visited Bakersfield. "Just reading your blog in the Californian this morning, as I religiously do, and the reference to The Doors in 1968 is incorrect.  The correct date was August 21, 1970.  I was back from Vietnam and enrolled at Bakersfield College at the time.  It was a GREAT show. Also of note, you know you are from Bakersfield if you saw The Rolling Stones at the Civic Auditorium July 24, 1966. They performed two shows, a matinee and evening. Totally awesome!"

* ... SEQUOIA: If you're one of the thousands of college students home for the holidays, chances are you are broke, hungry or both. If that's the case, head over to your closest Sequoia Sandwich shop for a free fountain drink and cookie, courtesy of the owners. With so many kids home, the manager of the southwest store on Ming Avenue, Valerie Damron, had the idea to treat the students to a drink and cookie if they wear their college sweatshirts and shirts. Hats off to Sequoia for the nice gesture. The offer is good for Friday, December 23, only.

 * ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that the original Cal State Bakersfield offices were located in a state-owned building on Kentucky Street?

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A daughter of Bakersfield pens a valentine to our sometimes quirky hometown

* ... HOME SWEET HOME: A beautiful tribute to Bakersfield showed up on the online forum Zocalo Public Square, written by Bakersfield High graduate Paige Hill, who now lives and works in Washington, D.C. A graduate of the University of North Carolina and the daughter of Bart and Napier Hill, Paige penned a moving valentine to our sometimes quirky and always endearing community. In her words: "The fog is something I can try to describe in a series of corny colloquialisms, but I ultimately fail to capture it. Bakersfield is like that, too. It's a city where in the same breath its residents will knowingly laugh and admit it is no cultural rival of San Francisco - and then fiercely defend it for what it is. It is ours."

 * ... SMOKE POLICE: Call me cranky, but was anyone else appalled at the story in Sunday's Californian about people from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District driving around town looking for people using their fireplaces on no burn days? Say what? California is broke, the educational system is in crisis, Sacramento is a dysfunctional mess and yet somehow we can still afford to have people on the public payroll driving around town  looking for people enjoying a warming fire. Sheesh.


* ... CAL STATE: The California state university system just seems to suffer blow after the blow, the latest coming last week when Gov. Jerry Brown announced it would absorb another $100 million in cuts. And that's on top of the $650 million in cuts the system lost earlier. CSUB President Horace Mitchell will join me Monday at 9 a.m. on KERN 1180 to talk about the effect on our local campus, and what we can expect in the future.  Tune it to learn how all this mess will affect our Cal State Bakersfield.

  * ... PADRE: Robert Bunker has returned to Bakersfield to become one of the general managers of the Padre Hotel downtown. Bunker worked at Seven Oaks Country Club as assistant clubhouse manager, left a few years ago and was recruited to return to our community to help run the Padre. He joins Jon Stephens who is the hotel's general manager for food and beverage service.

 * ... HICKORY FARMS: Bev Hayden wrote that she also remembers the Hickory Farms Store in the Valley Plaza.  "In the 1970s my husband Rod and his friend and partner George Thornburgh were constructing pre-fab housing on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. The native food wasn't exactly what they were used to so we would buy beef stick and crackers from Hickory Farms and ship it to them in cargo containers along with adult beverages. These packages were gratefully received."

 * ... FIELD OF DREAMS: Here's a fund raiser that is worthy of your attention: it's the League of Dreams gala that will raise money to to build playing fields for physically and emotionally challenged children. It's all part of physical therapist Tim Terrio's Field of Dreams project to give these youngsters the same opportunities as others. The event is set for Friday, January 20, at Monsignor Leddy Hall at Garces Memorial High School. Tickets are $125 per person or $200 a couple. Contact Nathan Gutierrez at (661) 377-1700.