Beachcombing

The internet offers a plethora of knowledge if you pay attention to what others share on Facebook, Nextdoor and similar social media programs.

For example, one posting by Pete Stack last week stated “History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from. And if it offends you, even better, because you are less likely to repeat it. History is not yours to change or destroy.”

My blood boils when I see Civil War statues being torn down. My blood boils when I see sport teams being forced to discard names like “Redskins.” Removing the Prospector Pete statue from the upper campus at Long Beach State pisses me off!

I am proud to be a Forty-Niner and will never support the fundraising efforts of CSULB President Jane Close Conoley for allowing a shark to replace the images of Prospector Pete and for desecrating the Puvungna land at my alma mater. The job of a college president is to educate students, not re-write history books.

I applaud the Jewish people who continue to remind us of the Holocaust. The people of Tulsa, Oklahoma, should be ashamed for attempting to hide the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 that killed hundreds of residents, burned more than 1,250 homes and erased years of Black success.

Wendy Campbell of Bluff Heights asks on Nextdoor: “Was Halloween cancelled or something? Where are all the trick or treaters at? It’s almost dark and I bought tons of candy but have not had one single kid in a costume come to my door and I live on a busy corner.”

But Joan Palmer of Huntington Harbour wrote “We had around 110 kids, we usually have around 150-200.”

For the second year in a row we had no trick or treaters at our Park Estates home. I heard my wife say that we had “twice as many as last year.” That makes sense if you multiply zero times two!

Last year we could blame the pandemic. This year the demographics and other Nextdoor comments explain everything. The distance between front doors in our neighborhood is probably five to ten times greater than Belmont Shore, for example. This demonstrates that kids are getting smarter. They can gather more goodies and walk less where the houses are much closer together.

Our online poll has been asking if the next chief of police should come from inside or outside the department. Responses were divided with 41% saying inside, 37% saying outside and the remainder open to both inside and outside.

Our secret reporting devices inside the Police Department suggest that the fix is already on for a certain deputy chief who has been in his position for the past four years. If this happens, it will demonstrate that the police union continues to pull the City Hall management puppet strings.

Our new poll asks if you to rate the Long Beach Public Works Department on maintaining city streets. I am constantly peeved by the potholes on Bellflower Boulevard, the shoddy patch jobs on Clark Avenue and dangerous sidewalk conditions caused by tree roots in our neighborhood, given the number of city employees (who are not) earning salaries in excess of $200K.

Tell us what you think at www.beachcomber.news and vote at the bottom of the front page. Then let us know the street name and block number where the problem exists by email: letters@beachcomber.news. Perhaps we can print a “Streets of Shame” column in each edition until the problem gets fixed.

Some words of wisdom worth sharing:

As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or a $30.00 watch – they both tell the same time. Whether we carry a $300 or a $30 wallet/handbag – the amount of money inside is the same. Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $15 wine – the hangover is the same. Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3,000 sq. ft. – loneliness is the same. Whether you drive a $8,000 Honda or a $80,000 Benz – they both serve the same purpose. You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.

Therefore, I hope you realize, when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sung songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth with – that is true happiness!

publisher@beachcomber.news