The nation celebrates the 70th anniversary of D-Day, old warbirds are headed to the Minter Field Air Museum and more bad form about town

* … DDAY: It's amazing to think we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of day Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy. Each day we lose more members of the Greatest Generation, that time when so many men and women gave everything so that the we could enjoy freedom. If you haven't paid a visit to Normandy and the solemn military cemeteries there, it is worth putting on your bucket list.
Locally, it's great to see so many aging veterans take the Honor Flights back to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials to these brave men and women. Today, we remember.

 * … MINTER FIELD: Speaking of remembering, put Saturday, June 14, on your calendar for a special air show and display out at the Minter Field (Shafter) Air Museum. There will be an airplane fly-in in memory of the late T-6 Warlock pilot Al Goss, vintage planes and race planes. The museum has also invited local car clubs and military vehicles to the event. It runs from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Pancake breakfast is another $5.

* … BAD FORM: A middle aged is behind the wheel of a late model Acura westbound on Truxtun extension doing 30 mph and weaving all over the road at lunch hour. His sin? Texting while driving.

* …MEMORIAL: I goofed in inferring that Mercy Hospital was the only local hospital to have Vein Finder devices. Turns out that Memorial Hospital also has three such devices, including two in the Lauren Small Children's Medical Center.

 * … FUND: Kudos to the Women's and Girls' Fund which has reached its goal of having a $1 million endowment. The fund, part of the larger Kern Community Foundation, awards grants to improve the lives of Kern County women and children. It was started in May 2005 by Judi McCarthy and a handful of friends and grew to $300,000 within two years.

 * … TINY'S: The renovation of the old bank building on the northeast corner of 18th and Chester is continuing, but did the building ever house a restaurant called Tiny's? Walt Berry has worked in the Sill Building across the street for 50 years and says he remembers Tiny's being located on the southeast corner, not the northeast. "Some of my friends keep telling me Tiny’s Restaurant was on that corner, but I have a picture of that intersection from November 1940 which clearly shows Tiny’s was on the south east corner. I also remember my father parking in front of Tiny’s in October 1949 on the southeast Corner. Can you or someone in your organization tell me if Tiny’s was ever on the northeast corner?"

Get ready for the inevitable dustup over off road motorcyclists in the soon to be preserved 'grand park" out by the Kern River, and we lose another member of the Greatest Generation

 * … CANYONS: Some of the best news in years came recently with the decision by the Metropolitan Bakersfield Habitat Conservation Trust Group to acquire the "crown jewel"of our area, the nearly 850 acres of bluffs out near Hart Park and the Kern River. Ever since the scheme to develop the property went bust, the rolling hills have been used by joggers, hikers, bicyclists and off-road motorcyclists. It is a beautiful area and certainly worth the investment as a new "grand park" for Bakersfield. But once the land is turned over to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there will no doubt be restrictions on the off-road motorcyclists who are destroying habitat and carving their own trails in the area. Stay tuned for the inevitable dust up.

 * … RIP: We lost another member of the Greatest Generation the other day with the passing of 90-year-old Ed Barnet. My friend Angelo Haddad told me that Ed, who lived in the Northeast near the old Green Frog Market, received a Purple Heart for his D-Day invasion wound, the Bronze Star, the European Theater Combat medal, the Presidential Unit Citation medal, and numerous campaign ribbons including the Battle of the Bulge during the winter of 1944 as a 19 year old from Memphis. May you rest in peace.

 * … OVERHEARD: A local businessman whose wife is Jewish is telling a friend at lunch: "When we moved here we were surprised at how many meetings start off thanking 'our savior Jesus Christ.' It doesn't bother me but that would never have happened back where we used to live."

 * … SPOTTED: On a friend's Facebook wall: "NBA commissioner rules that Donald Sterling cannot bring a white person -- namely, himself -- to any NBA games ."

 * … OLPH: Don't forget the annual Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish spring barbecue is this Thursday, May 1, at the Parish ground on Columbus. A $25 ticket gets you a delicious Harris Ranch steak or Teriyaki chicken grilled by Gary and Adam Icardo. The doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner service from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 pm.  Call Deborah Leary for tickets (661) 872-1543 or buy them at the door.

* … MEMORIES: Local architect Tom Jannino added to the discussion of the old downtown. In his words: "If memory serves me correctly, and it is getting a little foggier, Tiny's was originally on the  southeast corner of 18th and Chester, across 18th from the building in question. It later moved across 18th when it's former location was demolished for the construction of what was originally 'Bakersfield Savings and Loan', a structure presently housing 'Caesars' and several other tenants. As a child, I had many trips downtown with my mother, often stopping for lunch at Tiny's, the Tea room at Brock's, or the lunch counter at Newberry's or Woolworth's. A personal favorite was a small donut shop located on the east side of Chester Avenue just across the alley from the building that was originally the Californian Theater. Of course, all of this happened before the existence of Valley Plaza, when downtown Bakersfield was the center of shopping and banking."

 * … MORE MEMORIES: Jack Pasek reached out to remind me that a Sambo's restaurant once occupied the building on Ming Avenue that is now Bob's Big Boy. And Rollie Moore reminded be that the 'Salad Bowl' on Chester and 18th Street (Northeast corner) was his favorite eatery. "They had a 'Door open Toaster' sitting on every table along with a small cereal shaped box listing all the current songs. For a nickel you could select your favorite song and it would signal the big juke box in the corner to play your request as you visited and ate. The food was great!"

For the first time ever the University of California system admits more Hispanics than whites, but Asian students continue to lead the field particularly at UC Berkeley and UCLA

 * … COLLEGES: This is the time of year when high school seniors commit to the college of their choice, a white knuckle period for both the students and their parents. And now comes word that for

the first time ever, more Hispanic students were admitted to the University of California system than whites, reflecting our changing demographics. Add to that: the system admitted more out of state students than ever as well, simply because they pay higher tuition fees than in-state students. The facts: Latinos account for almost 29 percent of the California students for this fall's freshman class. That is slightly more than the 26.8 percent of whites, but it trails the number of Asian students at 36.2 percent. Black students represented 4.2 percent of those admitted.

 * … BUSHES: From Jon Crawford comes this thought: "Hawthorn bushes are evergreen, and although they are rather innocuous in looks, they do provide greenery in center dividers on Truxtun. In the spring they are covered with small pink flowers that last less than a month. Last month I noticed the city’s gardeners pruning to remove the flowers while they were in full bloom. One might conclude our city’s bureaucracy likes neat, but not beauty or color."

* … VINCENT: My earlier post about an abandoned cat that showed up on my porch brought this uplifting tale from Superior Court Judge David Lampe: "My wife Sandy (and I) are suckers for animals. A big feral black tomcat showed up on our front lawn about a year ago. We already had three rescued cats (and three dogs). My wife's heart went out to this big tom who was ill and dying on our front lawn. He was torn up on his head and torso after a lot of fights. He must have lost the last one. He wouldn't leave. Long story short: after many vet bills (neutered, antibiotics, eye drops, infected teeth removed) and convalescence in a cage in a spare bedroom, he survived. We call him Vincent, because they cut his ear when they neutered him (because he was feral) and because his other ear was chewed up in fights (my wife is a professional artist). We thought that we would release him once neutered and probably feed him as an outdoor cat. However, he now will not set foot outside. If we open the door, he just stares at us as if to say, 'Hey, I've been there - done that. Never again!' He has become the sweetest cat we have, and gets along with all the other animals. My nickname for him is The Thug because of his size and history. He is like a mob guy enjoying retirement. Sort of like Marlon Brando in the Godfather."

 * … MEMORIES: The old bank building being restored at the corner of 18th and Chester has triggered a lot of memories. Albert Lyons remembers going there when it was Tiny's restaurant. "I remember sitting by the big windows overlooking 18th Street. After that it was a  medieval theme restaurant but I cannot remember the name... King Arthurs? does anyone remember that? I had a friend who worked there."

  * … MORE MEMORIES: And this from reader Henry Webb: "I am grateful and excited to see the old bank building at 18th and Chester be resurrected. It should be a glorious place to see when finished.
I remember in the 1950s there was a Tiny's restaurant at that location. My dad used to take me there for their famous strawberry waffles. Across the street was a Sambo's cafe with a large mural of Sambo and the tiger in a jungle setting. Such a place is shocking to think of today as are the miscegenation laws that were in effect in some states then. I miss Tiny's."