Bakersfield man suffers traumatic neck injury while zip lining in Mexico; family establishes fund raising to bring him back to the United States

 * … TRAGEDY: Horrible news out of Cabo San Lucas where a Bakersfield man was severely injured in a zip lining accident. Brian Hodges and his wife Shimeaka were in Cabo celebrating a year of marriage when Brian broke his neck when he slammed into the side of a mountain while

zip lining. He is currently in a medically induced coma in a Mexican hospital. The family is trying to raise money to have Brian flown back to California where his insurance will kick in and he can be treated. Shimeaka works at OMNI Healthcare and Brian is a truck driver for KSI. A friend established the Brian and Shimeaka Hodges Fund at gofundme.com under their name. The family is trying to recoup the $50,000 it had to pay the Mexican hospital for Brian to be treated.

 * … BAD FORM: This example of some really bad form (and that is being generous) comes from reader Darla McCallum. "This is to the person who hit a dog on July 19th on Enos lane south of Rosedale Highway. (you know who you are). Did you even slow down or stop to see how the dog was? My guess is no! Shame on you. My husband and I did along with four other kind hearted people. He was severly injured and scared. How could you just leave him on the side of the road to die? You could have called for help. We could not afford to take him to the emergency vet. We comforted him as best we could until Animal Control got there. I say THANK YOU to the four people that stopped to help. My husband and I and a young women from Taft stayed with him for almost three hours, and by the way he had to be put down his internal injuries were too bad to save him. Again I say where is the compassion for living, breathing beings?"

 * … GOOD FORM: Hats off to two Garces High graduates who rescued a dog in the ocean off the Ventura coast. It turns out a dog had chased a sea gull into the ocean and went out too far, getting stranded while its owner was frantic on the beach. The two Bakersfield men, David Etcheverry and Cruise Adams, grabbed a kayak and a surfboard and paddled out to save the dog. Said Jeff Adams, Cruise's uncle: "David and Cruise paddled back to shore to a standing ovation by about 50 onlookers. It was a good thing David had been out kayaking every morning and Cruise had been surfing every morning to give them the ability to save another families love one."

 * … FOUNDATION: The Bakersfield Californian (family) Foundation is holding two separate grant cycles with awards of $100,000 and $50,000. The Foundation is looking to make a large impact with these two awards that will go to deserving non-profits. Letters of inquiry are due Friday, August 29. There is no "theme" for the work being done to win these awards. Go to the Foundation website (www.bakersfieldcalifornianfoundation.org) for more information.

 * … KUDOS: Kudos to Rachol West, a 2013 Garces High graduate who has been recognized by the Mountain West Conference for academic excellence in maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA through her freshman year as a student athlete (women's basketball) at San Jose State University.

 * … MEMORIES: Meanwhile local Realtor Ken Barnes remembers visiting his longtime friend Robert Stack in Los Angeles about 12 years ago. "We decided to go to lunch at the Bel-Air country club near his house. When we entered the bar-lunch area overlooking the putting green Bob said 'Let's join these guys over here by the window.' As we sat down he introduced me to Richard Crenna, Greg Kinnear, Dick Martin, and James Garner. He told me later he thought Kinnear was being interviewed for a membership in the club. You would never had known any of these guys were famous just sitting over lunch for an hour or so and talking about nothing special.  Garner was especially funny with many of his remarks.  Sad to say, I lost Bob the following year to a heart attack. Great memories."

Actor Eric Roberts puts his foot firmly in his mouth and celebrating the "michelada," a beer spritzer perfect for a lazy day on the beach

 REALLY BAD FORM: Hollywood is known as the home of inflated egos, but what happened to decorum and common courtesy? This came to mind when KBAK TV aired an interview with actor Eric Roberts (brother of Julia Roberts) who is town filming a movie. After asking a KBAK cameraman if he lived here, Roberts said:  "Then you know how it is in Bakersfield. Bakersfield sucks. It's simple. It's a terrible place, geographically, weather-wise, everything. But, the people are the coolest. What can I tell you?" Gee, thanks for the compliment, Eric. I think.

* … MICHELADA: One of my pleasant surprises on a recent trip to Mexico was the discovery of the "michelada," a wonderful cocktail consisting of lime juice, ice and local beer served with salt around the rim. (I was berated by my older daughter for not knowing about it) It's available at a few places in town, but I am surprised it's not more popular during our sweltering summer.

* … GOOD FORM: Juliane Knowles wrote to share a good deed that happened at the El Pollo Loco in the Southwest. "My friend's dog had jumped out of her window as she was in the drive thru at El Pollo Loco. Two lovely women in a green compact car had noticed him and put him in their car and then circled the parking lot looking for the panicked owner. My friend and I wanted to let them know how grateful we are. Thank you for being great citizens!"

 * … FIREWORKS: Count me among those who agree with Lois Henry that it's time to ban fireworks in Kern County. The sheer number of reported illegal fireworks this past Fourth of July was simply stunning, not to mention the damages from roof fires and personal injuries. Enough should be enough.

 * … VETERAN: Here's a little tidbit that should bring a smile to your day. Jim Lopez is a 77-year-old Vietnam veteran who recently ate at the IHOP on Buck Owens Boulevard. "As I was enjoying my breakfast a nice looking gentleman with a white beard, glasses and a beautiful wife, came up to me and thanked me for serving my country," he said. "Being a Vietnam veteran, we didn't get many gestures of gratitude upon our return from combat except from each other. I want to let this man and his wife know how grateful a simple thank you can mean to a veteran… I hope he has the opportunity to see this note of thanks for being so kind and for being a patriot of this grate nation."

 * … ACHIEVER: And more in the good news department, this comes compliments of East Bakersfiel High principal Lee Vasquez. "I am very pleased to inform you that one of our alumni, Victoria Warner, has graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo University, Summa Cum Laude and will be attending Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts this coming fall. Victoria is a 2010 graduate of East Bakersfield High School and she is the daughter of Mike and Diane Warner.  Mike is the instructor for our East Bakersfield High School Historical Archiving Class, is president of the Ken Historical Society and has been a Master Teacher for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in the State of  Virginia for 19 Summers. Mike designs curriculum, teaches workshops and trains teachers in American History instruction in a re-created 18th Century America total immersion program. What a great example of a Proud Bakersfield family."

He's back from vacation, some kudos for our Kern County Parkway bike path, and more bad form after trashing our local city parks

 * … HE'S BACK: Yes, I am back from a two week vacation. It's amazing how time off can cleanse and sharpen one's focus, and when I travel, I am always in awe of what a small world we share. In Zihuatanejo, Mexico, I met a cabbie who lived for three years picking grapes in Delano. The work

was backbreaking, he was working without documents, and he went home. Another acquaintance told me he spent six years in Fresno and Los Angeles and knew Bakersfield well. And finally in Barra de Potosi, a picturesque fishing village, I met a young man named Hugo who spent several years in the same neighborhood of Atlanta where I was raised. And as always, no matter how good the time off, it is always good to come home.

* … BIKE PATH: Sometimes we all need the perspective of a visitor to appreciate what we have. This from my colleague Rachel Cook, assistant managing editor of BakersfieldLife magazine. "My mom and her husband were visiting from Idaho this weekend and we took two rides on the Kern River Parkway bike path. They raved about how wonderful the trail is and how well maintained it is. My mom in particular gushed that it was nicer than trails she's ridden in Vail and Boise because it's so smooth. They also noticed that the people of Bakersfield are very friendly and welcoming. Altogether, Bakersfield made a great impression on them!"

 * …. TRASH: And there was this from an anonymous writer: "It is a shame the amount of trash that has been left at Jastro Park following a large gathering yesterday. I don't know if the city requires a permit to have a party at the park, but whoever reserved the park should be charged for the cleanup. It is a disaster."

 * … PISMO: In contrast, the beach at Pismo was thoroughly cleaned by 8 a.m. the day after the Fourth of July celebrations.

* … PITBULL LAWYERS: Reader Margie C. Casado rose to my defense after I referred to lawyers H.A. Sala and Daniel Rodriguez as being pit bull attorneys. "I did not read where you referred to counsel as pit bulls but, I would agree with you on that term. I own pit bulls and I am Hispanic. I fail to see the connection that Julie Womack was making and I don't know why she made a big deal out of your comment. Anyone living in this town knows what great attorneys H.A. Sala, Daniel Rodriquez and David Torres are. There are lawyers of other ethnic groups that are good at their profession also. I am glad you answered Julie the way you did without apologizing. To me, you were paying Mr. Sala and Mr. Rodriquez a compliment by calling them pit bulls."

* … MEMORIES: Ronal Reynier wrote to comment on the historic front pages that have been reprinted in the pages of the newspaper. "It would be interesting to see a reprint of sales advertisements.
Some years ago, while researching at the library, I pulled up the Californian printed on the day I was born. It must have been a slow news day. They did not even announce my birth. They did tell me that the city had about 37,000 people and 74,000 in the county. There had been 801 marriages and 800 divorces in the county. The most interesting page though was a full page advertisement by our local Ford dealer. They were announcing that 'credit is now available' on a car with a sales price of
only $909. That was real deal as at today's price it would be only $15,600. You could buy this car with only $303 down and finance the balance over three years at only 30 percent per year. Now is that a deal or what? "