Boat and RV show is a big hit; a signal of better economic times? And a random act of kindness is offset by bad form

 * ... RV SHOW: Apparently the big boat and RV sportsman show out at the Kern County Fairgrounds this past weekend was a huge hit, drawing near record crowds and giving local businessmen a reason to smile. Is this an indication that things are getting better? Are folks feeling more confident about making big-ticket purchases? Let's hope so.

 * ... KINDNESS: Marian McBride passes along this random act of kindness. "A few days ago I went to der Wienerschnitzel on Ming Avenue. When I reached the drive-up window the owner was waiting with a big smile.  I thought he was happy to see his most vocal fan of Street Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bacon and including grilled onions).  Instead, he told me that the customer in front of me had paid for my order.  I asked why and he said she just did a kind thing.  She was driving away (white car), which I didn’t recognize. Perhaps she had seen in her mirror that I am an old lady in an old pickup. Perhaps she heard my old-school ways of thanking people for everything. Those two Street Dogs tasted better than any others ever did. Thank you, unknown lady, for a very sweet, very kind act.

 * ... SPOTTED: Meanwhile, not everyone displays such good form in public. Take this example of bad behavior witnessed by Jolie Brouttier: A woman in the Rite Aid parking lot off Gosford Road leans over the driver's seat, opens the passenger door and tosses out a large to-go box, leaving her lit cigarette on top of the trash. "Seeing me catch her in the act and give her a disgusting stare-down, she proceeds to back up and flip ME off, not paying attention to the other cars behind her, nearly causing a collision. From litter bug to unsafe driver, this woman has a lot of class. NOT!"

* ... ASHBURN: I had a chance the other day to catch up with Roy Ashburn, the former supervisor and state senator who had a very public fall from grace two years ago when he was ticketed with a DUI in Sacramento and later revealed he was gay. Ashburn is now running for his old seat as a First District supervisor, along with several other candidates, and no matter what you think of his politics, it was good seeing him emotionally healthy and happy. This is not an endorsement of his candidacy, but rather an endorsement of the concepts of forgiveness and redemption. Ashburn called his arrest and subsequent "coming out" a blessing in that is allowed him to reorder his life. He has been sober for two years.

* ... AUTHOR: Niko and Sally Livingston dropped me a note about their son, who has just penned his first children's book. The new author is 26-year-old Stuart Livingston, a graduate of Bakersfield High, Bakersfield College, and Cal State Northridge. He co-authored, and co-illustrated a book that’s received the Kirkus Star for remarkable merit from Kirkus Reviews. It’s a children’s graphic novel titled Explorer:  The Mystery Boxes and features Stuart’s story 'The Soldier’s Daughter.'  Writing and illustrating are sideline projects to his full-time job creating storyboards for the cartoon 'Futurama.'" Congrats to this young man.

 * ... OUR HISTORY: In 1896 a Los Angeles company placed regular advertisements in The Californian announcing a cure for "Cancer and Tumors.... No knife or pain. No pay till cured!"

A few examples of really bad behavior in our community and examining the demographics of a changing America

  * ... BAD FORM: Sometimes you just can't avoid the stupidity of your fellow man. As in when Warren Rooney was cycling on Round Mountain Road about four miles east of Gordon's Ferry when he experienced an incident that could have left him in the hospital, or worse. "It was a Saturday afternoon when a vehicle came up behind me going 45-50 mph and the passenger slugged me in the back. I could tell that the vehicle was coming close by the sound and so I was inches from the edge of the pavement and they came up next to me within a foot or so. It was an older American made SUV, possibly a late 1980s or early 1990s Chevy Blazer or Suburban. It had an old red-orange paint job that looked like it might have been done at home. The rear license plate was inside the rear window and had reflective plastic between the license plate and window making it difficult to read." This guy should be easy enough to notice around town.
 

 * ... SINGLES: There has been a rash of stories recently on our nation's changing demographics, including statistics that show that fully half of all adults are unmarried and most of them are living alone. And now comes a website devoted to the single life called "QuirkyAlone." The website says it is devoted to people who "enjoy being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and prefer being single to dating for the sake of dating. It’s a mindset. Quirkyalone is not anti-love. It is pro-love. It is not anti-dating. It is anti-compulsory dating."

* ... DRIVERS: Nancy Barnett read my earlier post about an unlicensed driver, who had no insurance, caused an accident and then just drove off before police arrived. She added this:  "At the checkpoints the Bakersfield Police Department hold, if you are driving without a license but you can call someone to come get your car and drive you home, they let you go.  Do the police actually think that person won't get behind the wheel and do this again? It's even more amazing how many people don't keep the registration up to date on their cars!  If it was you or me and our tags were 6 months out of date, we'd be pulled over in a heartbeat and ticketed!"



 * ... HEALTH FACTS: Researchers now believe that adopting a diet of fish and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids will help your memory as you age. In fact, The Wall Street Journal says some doctors are recommending we eat fish three times a week. And there is this: other research shows that men who are at least six feet tall have a much lower risk of developing heart failure than shorter men. So count yourself lucky if you're tall and enjoy that tilapia a few times a week.


* ... WEILL: One of my favorite and worth-while nonprofit fund raisers is coming up next month when The Weill Child Guidance Foundation will hold its annual wine tasting at the historic Guild House Friday, March 23, from 5:30 p.m. 8 p.m. This is always an interesting evening and a chance to taste some good wines and munch on hors d'oeuvres while touring the beautiful Guild House. The cost is $75 per person. Call Toni Ross at (661) 322-1021, ext. 186 for reservations. Proceeds benefit the Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic, which has provided mental health services for Kern County children and families for 66 years.

 * ... OUR HISTORY: Did you know that John Philip Sousa and his "Sousa's Peerless Band" performed in Bakersfield's Armory Hall on February 26, 1896? The cost for reserved seats? Just $1.