Beachcombing

Jay Beeler

Well, that was fun. Having a beard and long hair with curls took me back to my last semester at CSULB in 1970, although back then it was called Long Beach State College. Chuck Nunnelly, my boss in the engineering division at McDonnell Douglas (called Douglas Aircraft when I started to work there), was okay with taking a leave of absence to finish my BA degree in Radio/TV and Journalism.

Doubtful he would have been okay with all that hair on my head when I returned or with the employer at my next job in public relations at Transamerica Financial, a super conservative environment in downtown Los Angeles.

Linda at Park Avenue Salon, which is across the street from our office, did yeoman’s duty to get my locks trimmed. Unlike days of yore, she checked my temperature, sent me to the rest room to wash my hands for 20 seconds and required face masks for both of us. Looks like we’ll be repeating this practice for the rest of 2020.

 

Our “Best of Long Beach” contest is also getting back on track. The July 3 issue will announce the winners that usually get announced in April. That publish date didn’t seem like a good idea with businesses closing and the future uncertain.

Phase two of our contest is focused on retail, restaurants and entertainment. We’ll do that polling in August and announce the winners in October. Call me if you want to jump in as a sponsor by providing a dozen $25 gift cards: (562) 597-8000.

Pandemics, riots, what’s next? This year will go down in history much like a few other catastrophes that we experienced: the 1965 and 1992 riots, the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 9-11 attacks.

 

The insanity to erase history continues with the current efforts of a small few to change the name of Wilson High School because Woodrow Wilson was “racist,” as were a few million others during that day and age, but who also did great things for society.

Equally devoid of common sense is the CSULB attempt to erase “Prospector Pete” from my alma mater and have a shark named Jane for a mascot. I’m okay with using “The Beach” to describe sports and academic teams but will never abandon Prospector Pete in his rightful place in CSULB’s Forty-Niner history.

Society should learn from its mistakes. Ignorant people attempt to erase the past, paving the way for future generations to repeat the exact, same missteps that were made before. As Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Along these lines we’ve modified the donation page on our website to include “Political Action & Recall” for those who agree with our positions on important local issues. Until the juggernaut between unions, real estate developers, special interests and politicians is broken, we’ll direct any funds donated in that category to fixing the problem. Go to www.beachcomber.news and click on the “Donate” button to support this initiative.

 

How do you feel about changing the name of Wilson High School? Go to www.beachcomber.news and vote at the bottom of our front page. Choose from “favor, do not favor and no opinion” and send comments to letters@beachcomber.news.

The current poll is asking readers to evaluate the LBPD’s response to the riots during the week of May 31: Excellent 7%, Good 0%, Fair 14%, Poor 71% and No Opinion 7%.

The prior poll asked readers to evaluate the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Excellent 21%, Good 19%, Fair 10% and Poor 51%.

Both seem about right.

 

A reader recently shared the following tidbit:

We are all familiar with … a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese.

Now consider a group of baboons. Baboons are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not – a “congress” of baboons!

How apropos.

publisher@beachcomber.news

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