User Posts : The Southwest Voice

La Cucina di Betty: Take a dip

Undoubtedly, the most popular party time snack is the reliable dip.

Dips are a great way to incite mingling among guests during cocktail hour, and are versatile and easy for the host. Dips are ideal for serving at parties because they can be prepared up to a day in advance when kept tightly covered.

Besides their ability to be made ahead, dips also lend themselves to a variety of ingredients. With a little imagination, you can come up with your own variations.

Dips don’t ever have to be exact!

Recipe adjustments are simple. For instance — don’t have any green onions for your dip? Try using onion flakes or any other onion you may have on hand.

To enliven a spring dip, add some fresh tarragon and lemon juice, or spice it up by adding chopped jalapenos and minced garlic. And, if you avoid using mayonnaise — since mayonnaise contains 1600 calories and 176 grams of fat per cup — use yogurt or sour cream instead.

And remember, you can easily adjust the seasoning and size of to accommodate the tastes and size of your party.

Your dip can be accompanied by an endless array of “dippers.” Instead of potato chips or tortilla chips, take a healthier approach and try something that offers the same crunch but contains less fat. Healthy possibilities would be sliced vegetables, like carrots, cucumbers, red bell peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, blanched sugar snap peas or asparagus (to blanch: add veggies to boiling water for three to five minutes, drain and pat dry).

Another option is to cut pita bread into wedges and toast briefly in a moderate oven until crisp.

More favorites are bagel chips, mini rice cakes, or homemade tortilla chips (cut one large tortilla into eight slices. Place on a baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes).

So dip into your imagination and give party-goers a new taste on an old standby.

Mucho Gusto Dip
• 3 ripe avocados
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 2 5-ounce cans refried beans
• 1 4 1/2 ounce can chopped olives
• 1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
• 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• Tortilla chips

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pits. Scoop out the meat with a spoon, place in a small bowl, and mash with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste. In another small bowl, combine the sour cream and the taco seasoning mix. Stir to blend well. Spread the refried beans in an even layer on a large round platter or shallow casserole dish. Spread the mashed avocado on top of the beans. Cover with the sour cream. Scatter the chopped olives, chilies, tomatoes, and scallions over the sour cream. Top with the grated cheese. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping. Serves 12-plus.

Blue Cheese Dip with Apples
• 2 4-ounce containers blue cheese, crumbles
• One quarter cup red onion, chopped
• One quarter cup parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 or 3 red apples, sliced thin

Mix the cheese, parsley and red onion. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic, mix well. Toss the cheese mixture with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with thinly sliced red apples.

Red Roasted Pepper Artichoke Dip
• 1/3 cup green onions, diced
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise (do not substitute)
• 1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients together, except the 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese and the parsley. Pour into an 8-inch quiche dish. Spread mixture evenly. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Take from heat and drizzle over the top of the 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve with sliced veggies or chips of choice.

Mississippi Caviar
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drainged
• 1 bell pepper, chopped fine
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped fine
• 6 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped fine
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 avacados, chopped
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 1 16-ounce bottle of Berstein’s Italian Dressing

Combine all ingredients except avacado in a large bowl, stir gently. Refirgerate overnight. Add avacado before serving with Tostito’s scoop chips or Fritos.

Hummus
Hummus, the Middle Eastern garbanzo bean puree, is delicious, easy to make, and can be prepared well in advance — in fact, it tastes better when made at least one day ahead.

• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained˜(reserve liquid)
• 2 tablespoon reserved liquid from garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini paste (sesame paste)
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• Salt to taste

Turn on a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and drop in the garlic. After it has chopped, add the garbanzo beans. Process for about 30 seconds, until roughly chopped and grainy. Add the juice from the beans along with the lemon juice, tahini paste, olive oil and salt to taste. Process until smooth. From time to time scrap down the side of the processor bowl. Thin out the hummus with some of the reserved bean liquid or olive oil, to obtain a smooth consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Walkers called to help beat asthma

Teams are forming now for the fifth annual Blow the Whistle on Asthma Walk scheduled for April 12 at Beach Park from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Do you know anyone personally who has asthma? With Kern County being ranked as having the worst air quality in the nation, it is not surprising that thousands in our community have asthma, many of them young children. Most importantly, there are many of those afflicted with this disease whose asthma is considered mismanaged or “out of control.” That is where the American Lung Association comes in.

We help hundreds of people take control of their asthma and lead healthier lives. All of our counseling and community programs are free — and that’s where you can help. Grab your friends, family members and co-workers and pledge to walk and raise money for the local American Lung Association. Walkers are asked to raise a minimum of $100 each to help reach this year’s goal of $100,000. Registration is free. This year’s event will include sponsor exhibits, food and music for all participants to enjoy. The event is sponsored in part by Kaiser Permanente, The Gas Company and The American Lung Association.

Visit: www.kernlung.org (click on the Asthma Walk Icon) to register as an individual. To register as a team, pick up team packets at the American Lung Association office, 4660 American Ave. Suite 100, Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 5 p.m. For more information, call 847-4700.

CSUB 60+ Club seminar to focus on retirement planning

Even those who are in the early stages of planning what they will do when they retire will gain a fund of information at a half-day seminar called “Young at Heart: Adding Life to Your Years," is sponsored by the Cal State Bakersfield 60+ Club, said Lee Hoerner, coordinator of the seminar. It will be held on campus from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, in room 153 of the Business Development Center.

The program will be presented by five different speakers, all experts in their fields. Topics and speakers include:

• “You Can’t Take it With You” by George Manolakas, attorney and certified specialist in estate planning, trusts and probate.

• “Exposing Your Creative Side” by Anthony Goss, registered music therapist and president of the Arts Council of Kern.

• “Eat Drink and Be Merry” by Mike Stepanovich, wine judge and critic and director of Foundation and Institutional Development at Bakersfield College.

• “Tai Chi: Mind and Body-Getting it Together” by Larry Costner, tai chi instructor at the Arthritis Association Adaptive Aquatics Center.

• “Get a Life: Development and Discovery” by T. Ken Ishida of the CSUB psychology department.

The seminar is open to the public. Cost is $5. Pre-registration is requested but not required. For parking information, call the CSUB Alumni Relations Office at 654-3211.

Move over eBay! The Southwest Voice Classifieds introduces new rates

Have you been enjoying our new classified section of The Southwest Voice?

The advantages of having a local classified section are:

No shipping!
Buy locally and get your items sooner
Cheaper than eBay
Extremely localized means quicker sales (for college textbooks, etc.)

After a huge response and much success, we have decided to keep this convenient feature and are announcing new pricing rates.

Users will now be charged a nominal rate to place ads in certain categories on Voice Web sites.

Not all categories will carry a fee. For example users can place a Merchandise ad with a photo and five keywords for FREE! If they choose, they can add more photos, a map, more keywords, an MP3 or a YouTube video for a little more.

Ads will range from $3 for a simple text-only ad up to $15 for a real estate ad with photos, keywords and other extras like a border and background.

Don't wait! Utilize this great feature now!

Southwest Voice newsletter - Feb. 20, 2008

Greetings, Southwest Bakersfield! Would you like to win an iPod Shuffle?

Your new issue of The Southwest Voice should be in your mailbox today. If you find that you aren't receiving it anymore, you may not be a subscriber. The good news is that starting with THIS issue, all new subscribers are eligible to be entered in a drawing to win a FREE iPod Shuffle. All you have to do is:

Get the current copy of The Southwest Voice
Read it from cover to cover (it's really good!)
Cut out the subscription form on the inside cover and mail it to the address shown on the form.
Voila! Your name goes into the drawing for the iPod Shuffle AND you start getting your beloved SWV delivered to your home once again.

Remember! This contest is open only to first-time subscribers who use the subscription form picturing the iPod Shuffle.

Next, for the fun stuff! The Southwest Voice, Feb. 20th edition!

This week's issue is filled with lots of great stories and photographs from our Southwest contributors!

Editor on the move!

It isn’t every day I get to talk to people about my great job or how much I love being the editor of such an incredible community paper. I’m lucky that schools are inviting me to participate in activities that allow me to meet the kids and tell them all about The Southwest Voice.

At San Lauren Elementary, I spoke at Career Day. The students were excited to hear about our contests and about nominating their teachers for “Educator of the Month.” Send in your nominations today on the Web!

Dangerous Boys Club!

“The Dangerous Book for Boys” is a book written by two brothers, Conn and Hal Iggulden. They take a stab at introducing our children to things we forgot to teach them ourselves, such as how to make a coin disappear, how to tie a fancy knot, how to train your dog to sit and roll over, even how to create a treasure map!

Barnes & Noble Booksellers meets with these dangerous boys the first Saturday of the month at 2 p.m. Join them! The next meeting is March 1.

Rob Berry -- He's back!

Beloved Southwest Voice contributor, Rob Berry, returns with a letter to his son to tell him of the good old days... before the days become too old to recall. You shouldn't miss Rob's keen observations.

Rock-a-Bye Baby photo contest!!!

These Southwest residents are on the ball! It isn't too late to enter your sleeping tots in The Voice's "sleeping child" photo contest! Click above to see all the recent entries. The winner will be announced in the March 5 issue!

Don't forget our regular features: education, wine, sports, and a special 2-page section about our visitor from Denmark, Marianne Due!

How to Unsubscribe

To stop receiving this newsletter, please DO NOT respond to this e-mail. Instead, go online to The Southwest Voice sign in, click Edit Settings and Profile, and uncheck the box at the bottom labeled /"Receive Newsletter/."

Dangerous Boys Club... Dangerously fun!

When I was a kid, I remember getting up early on a Saturday morning before my parents were out of bed, making a quick bowl of cereal, then hitting the door to play! And play I did! You see, I was 10 years old in 1975 — that was when you could do that. All the kids did. We ran to the park just down the street, played ball, played pirates, and even ran a successful business (lemonade stand). We’d make up games or catch frogs. We checked in with Mom sometime during the day. (No, we didn’t call her on our cell phones ... uh, there were no cell phones!) We had to run home in the middle of our fun or call her from a friend’s house we were playing in just to let her know we were still alive. Small price to pay, because after that call we were good till the sun went down. Yeah, that’s right — when the streetlights came on. We knew we’d better head on home and prepare for the same tomorrow. Ah yes, those were the good ol’ days.

Cut to now. On any given weekend you might find a few kids who are allowed to roam free and play anywhere, but not in my house. My kids pretty much stay indoors playing PlayStation 3, or PSP, or __________ (enter latest gadget here). Not to say that it isn’t controlled — we do monitor their time spent on computer games and we do get together to play a board game or two on occasion, but it’s certainly a different kind of playground they play on, or should I say “in.” Shooting lasers at the villain, conquering the latest racing game, or rockin’ out with the virtual band they’ve assembled — it’s amazing. Heck, they can even box a guy who’s halfway around the world when they enter the online mode of their games!

Oh, we have our park time, but it’s usually a family outing. Do people even let their kids go anywhere alone anymore? It’s a shame that the reality of predators roaming the streets makes you think twice before letting kids go anywhere alone anymore.

But the good times like we used to have in those old memories are back ... kind of. You see, I am the community relations manager at Barnes & Noble Booksellers on California Avenue, and we have a wonderful new event that allows us to take that nostalgic trip back to our youth — and we get to bring our kids! Well, actually, it’s the kids who get to take the “trip.” We get the joy of watching them doing something innocent, like deciphering a secret code or learning a new coin trick, while making new friends at our latest children’s event!

We had our first meeting on Feb. 2 hosted by Bookseller and CSUB student Ryan Young with more than 90 kids (almost all boys) show up! They learned the secret hand-shake you should know and the secret password that you should mention when greeting a fellow Dangerous Boy. They won stickers and pencils and one kid even won a copy of the book!

I urge all parents of boys (between the ages of 8 and 12) to attend these meetings! They will always be on the first Saturday of the month at 2 p.m. and will always feature something cool from the book (Navajo Windtalkers, pirate knots and treasure maps, identifying insects, and learning camping skills — just to name a few!). If you have any questions about this wonderful new event, call Barnes & Noble at 631-2575.

Next meeting: Saturday, March 1!

Editor on the move!

It isn’t every day I get to talk to people about my great job or how much I love being the editor of such an incredible community paper. My family is getting tired of hearing it and my co-workers are busy creating their own masterpieces, so I’m lucky that schools are inviting me to participate in activities that allow me to meet the kids and tell them all about The Southwest Voice.

At San Lauren Elementary, I spoke at Career Day. The students were excited to hear about our contests and about nominating their teachers for “Educator of the Month.”

Next month, I have been invited to be a guest reader during the annual Read Across America Celebration. Keep an eye out for me!

Also, I now have the pleasure of announcing the beginning of the HANNAH MONTANA MANIA PHOTO CONTEST!!!

Check out the new pictures as they become available online, then look for my upcoming post with all the details!!

Eureka! I have found it

“Why on earth did you choose to come to Bakersfield?”

This is the No. 1 question that meets me every time I tell someone that I have travelled all the way from Denmark to Bakersfield. The answer is: to learn about your neighborhood journalism.

I am first of all a curious journalist, then a newspaper area editor of three municipalities situated north of the Danish capitol Copenhagen. My newspaper, Frederiksborg Amts Avis, named after the castle in the middle of the town Hillerød, is a part of a media company that matches The Bakersfield Californian in size of circulation. So when in March 2007 I read an interview with Mary Lou Fulton that “The Northwest Voice is written by its citizens,” I had to learn more about these projects of participation journalism.

In Denmark you pay $2 for a daily newspaper as mine. It will contain almost no ads, and the circulation is declining dramatically, last year with 9 percent. The company earns its money through free weeklies (which contain ads) and the print work, so learning about new projects that are a success economically almost from day one, must be worth my journey half around the world.

And it certainly has been worth it. I have been interviewing the editors of The Voices, MÁS, Bakotopia, The Tehachapi News and Bakersfield.com, and I have the honor of meeting Mary Lou Fulton and publisher of The Californian Ginger Moorhouse.

Now I am much closer to understanding what you — the readers — love: to see pictures of yourself, your children or family, to share thoughts and experiences, to inform the neighborhood. All together, to build and have an identity through the Web site and magazine.

In Denmark, the first paper that started out with journalism known as participation, contribution, citizen, user generated or hyperlocal, began Jan. 8, and two weeks after 600 citizens had registered.

I have read in my guidebook about California, that the state motto is: “Eureka! I have found it.” Once it might have referred to land, or to gold or oil, but no doubt you can now also say this motto about your way of making the first steps into the future of journalism.

That’s why I have come to Bakersfield: to find it.

All in Due time: Danish student learns how to bring citizen journalism home

It’s easy to understand why a foreigner would travel halfway around the world and cross eight time zones to visit Disneyland. It would be difficult to find fault in an itinerary with Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, or the Grand Canyon as destinations.

When someone travels from Denmark to Bakersfield, however, to study journalism, the only reaction is disbelief.

But that’s exactly what Marianne Due did. Due, 42, a journalist and graduate student from Denmark, arrived two weeks ago to study citizen journalism publications. Her master’s degree requires that students travel abroad to research one facet of journalism.

After attending a conference in Denmark featuring Mary Lou Fulton, who was speaking about The Southwest Voice and its sister publications, The Northwest Voice, MÁS, and Bakotopia, Due chose to study what she refers to as hyper-local journalism.

“Hyper-local journalism is a growing term,” says Due, who began studying The Voice papers online. “It empowers community members to tell community stories.”

Working as a journalist for almost 16 years, user-generated content both intrigues and baffles Due.

“As a journalist, it was very difficult for me to see or understand the value of (user-generated) content because of how I was taught in school,” she says, referring to the difference between mainstream media and the varied community content she saw posted on Web sites.

She noticed that people will post very personal stories or photos that have no traditional news value, yet Web-based newspapers continue growing in popularity.
Armed with a determination to garner a better understanding of this new brand of journalism, Due packed her bags for Bakersfield.

“I wanted to get a concrete example by working around the community journalism project,” says Due. “I wanted to see how it functions on a daily basis.”

Due spent 10 days shadowing editors and interviewing citizen journalists, many of whose faces she already recognized by their pictures on the Web.

“This was invaluable,” said Due of her last evening spent with eight community contributors. The contributors spoke candidly about their reasons for submitting stories. They agreed that mainstream news outlets are still necessary but that the localized format of The Southwest Voice is an essential complement to other forms of widespread media.

“Having a paper like the Northwest or Southwest Voice makes us a community, not just an area of the city,” said regular contributor Caroline Reid.

The trip to Bakersfield proved enlightening for Due, who said that she intends to present the idea to the paper for which she writes in Denmark.

“Print media isn’t dying,” said Due, “but there is something special in this cross using of Web and media. It’s something new for journalists.”

The Layman’s Corner

Suffering a brain aneurysm takes on a whole new meaning when you’re a Christian. It sure does for me. As you may read in The Northwest Voice cover story, in early January ‘07 I had a headache that wouldn’t go away. My wife took me to Dr. Cousin who sent me to the hospital. An MRI revealed a ruptured artery in my brain and they had to operate.

I don’t remember any of this. I do remember waking up in the hospital wondering where I was and why I was there. When my neurosurgeon Dr. Rashidi showed up at my bedside, he told me that 30 percent of people who have a ruptured aneurysm like mine “don’t make it to the operating table.” They die. And the majority of people who survive have major complications, like they can’t walk or talk. He said I was part of an extremely small minority of people who can function as well as I do.

Lying there in the hospital bed, it never occurred to me to blame God. I didn’t get mad at God. I didn’t say, “Why me Lord?”

I said something like, “OK. What now, Lord? You have my attention!”

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
— Romans 8:28

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 1:6

Apparently my work isn’t done. I realized, even lying in a hospital bed, that the Lord has a plan for my life and that I was entering the next phase, the next season.

In my absence from the television news business, God has shown me a lot and given me many opportunities to share my faith, to share my testimony, and to share my story about my brain aneurysm. I hope to have the opportunity to share my testimony with you in upcoming issues of The Voice. Until then remember that God has a plan for your life, too. If we are patient and faithful, God will lead us in the way He wishes us to go.

Editor’s note: We at The Northwest Voice are delighted to have Rusty Shoop as a contributor to our Faith section.

Ask a Wine-know: All about corkage

Today I’m responding to a request to “explain corkage to me.” I’m happy to do so, since we live in California and it is a widespread practice in this state. It does not exist in all states.

Corkage is the term given to the fee many restaurants charge for allowing you to bring in your own bottle of wine to be served with dinner. The charge is for their opening and serving your wine in their glasses that they must provide and clean, of course. Corkage here in town runs from $10 to $25 per bottle. Not all local restaurants charge and not all restaurants allow the practice. Phone ahead to ask and also ask about the fee for this service.

Also, do not bring a wine that is already on the restaurant’s wine list. That is considered bad form. Besides, the waiter can reject serving you a wine they already have made available. That happened to me not too long ago. We went to a famous restaurant in the Napa Valley and I took along one of my few bottles of a great French Bordeaux that was nearly 20 years old. The waiter smiled, handed it back saying “great wine, we have it on our list.” Oops!

I know you’re going to ask — it was French Laundry, their corkage was $50, and my wine was on their wine list for $1,800! Yep, you read that right. Nope, I didn’t pay that for it 16 years ago, I paid $75. Needless to say, we didn't order it that night either. Great wines do increase mightily in value over the years, but only those that age well, and that’s not most of the stuff on our shelves. Buying wine for an investment is the practice of some, but not me.

Back to corkage. Why the practice? Wine lovers generally have larger cellars of great or hard-to-get wines than the typical restaurants can manage to keep on their wine lists. We want to drink these wines with dinner with friends. We can do it at home, but it’s a lot easier to go out. I choose where I’m going to dine based on whether or not I’m allowed to bring in my wine. I want to drink it, share it with friends, and not have to prepare every meal. Winos are usually foodies too. We have very good restaurants in Bakersfield that will give you very good food and provide good wine to accompany their dishes, but they will be pleased to serve your wine — for a corkage. Such a service brings me back to those establishments more often than otherwise and I make sure my wine is not on their list and I also offer a glass to the proprietor or waiter if it is a special wine. If you have a large party, buy a bottle or two from the restaurant as a courtesy.

Why is it called corkage? I don’t know, except for the fact that the cork has to be pulled out before the bottle can be served. You would not bring in an open bottle nor a bottle of Two Buck Chuck. You should be proud to present this bottle to the waiter as both you and he know it’s special. You’re grateful he’s allowing you to bring it in because he doesn’t have to!

It has no other relationship to the cork. Corks are a whole other story that I will have to get into some other time.

So, if you have a bottle of wine that you want to open for friends or a special occasion, and you don’t want to cook, choose where you want to go and call ahead. Ask about corkage, and if you're not familiar with the wine list find out if your bottle is on it before you present it for opening.

A bottle of fine wine will enhance your evening every time.

Coming Events:

March 10 — Enjoy a gourmet wine dinner featuring Bell Winery from the Napa Valley at Café Med, 4809 Stockdale Highway. Also, you can enroll your kids in a cooking class at Café Med during spring break! To make reservations or for more information, call 834-4433.
March 22 — Bakersfield Wine Society at The Petroleum Club, featuring St. Supéry Winery from Napa. For more information, call Mike Stepanovich at 588-0783 or 342-2339.

Questions or comments? E-mail Ann at: acierley@etcrier.net

A Day in the Life: A birthday of another kind

Unlike most people, I have more than one birthday. The first celebrates my birth and the second, Feb. 9, is the day I received my stem cell transplant. In the fall of 2000 I was diagnosed with primary amyloidosis. If you’ve heard of multiple myeloma, then you are close to understanding the illness. I was fortunate that my primary care physician Dr. Stephen Strategos had recently studied the rare disease.

After months of chemotherapy, I entered the City of Hope National Medical Center for a three-month stay. There I was given daily injections to increase my stem cell production. My transplant used my own cells, not that of a donor. After a couple of weeks, tests determined that I’d developed enough stem cells. The harvesting procedure involved straining out the cells that were then irradiated and frozen to await my transplant.

I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t afraid when I entered the isolation ward, and the room I would call home for over a month. Once high-dose chemotherapy was administered, it took less than a week before I was deemed “ready” for the transplant. Then, on the morning of Feb. 9, 2001 my nurses, garbed from head to toe, entered my room singing, “Happy birthday to you!” while one held my hand, the other began the process of infusing me with the frozen stem cells.

What happened next took a total of 29 days. The doctors checked my blood twice daily to watch the counts that would determine that my stem cells had “taken hold.” It amazed me then, and still does today, that those frozen cells sought out my bones and began to remake an immune system. At the end of those 29 days I was released from isolation, much thinner and definitely weaker. It took another week before my doctors released me to the care of my local oncologist. The day I left the City of Hope was March 15, which amazingly is my wife Debbie’s birthday.

So much has happened in the past seven years, but nothing is dearer to my heart than the morning my nurses wished me happy birthday. And, in spite of the fact that I’ve traveled a rough road, I am still here. To say I am blessed is an understatement because that incredible procedure given to me that Feb. 9 saved my life and allowed me to share my story.

Ridgeview High Formal

Back in my day

We have all heard the saying at one time or another, typically from a father or grandfather. Experience has taught us that any story beginning with “back in my day” should be received politely but with skepticism. It’s not really the storyteller’s fault – time simply has a way of affecting hindsight. Sometimes it’s a positive influence — every time my grandfather told stories about his baseball days, he had more home runs and more championships. Sometimes the influence is negative, as a recalled trip to school evolves from two blocks of sunny sidewalk to eight miles of drudgery through 6 feet of snow and uphill both ways. Must have been a climate change thing – I had no idea Bakersfield streets used to be buried under so much snow 10 months of the year.

The thought recently occurred to me that I am now living the days of adulthood that I will someday recount to my son. In a sense, I am living “my days” now. Of course, he is only 2 years old, so I have many years before I can tell the tales.
Maybe it’s because I don’t trust my own hindsight or maybe I’m afraid all of those concussions will affect my ability to recall today’s life with clarity and accuracy. So, perhaps the best solution is to simply write a letter to my son now, all about life in the world he was born into. And so we begin:

Dear Son,

As you read this many years from now, you are probably living in an amazing world. Rather than bore you with hazy memories of my youth through dull and semi-accurate storytelling, I thought I would put it all in a letter for you. This will explain life from “back in my day,” back when you were just a baby.

Back in my day, gasoline cost over $3 per gallon and we were all furious about it. Inexplicably, we paid twice that amount for every gallon of coffee or bottled water, but for some reason we didn’t get upset about that.

Back in my day, personal dietary choices led to epidemic obesity and other health-related problems. Nevertheless, we would often order double cheeseburgers with extra cheese, super-sized French fries, onion rings, a chocolate shake and a Diet Coke. It’s OK though — the Diet Coke had some sort of compound that negated all of the calories and saturated fat from the rest of the meal.

Back in my day, the term “personal responsibility” was an oxymoron. In fact, ironically, the statement “I take full responsibility” was used by politicians, athletes and others as a way of completely avoiding responsibility. Doesn’t make sense? Join the club. You see, it was so much easier to blame society, government, police, teachers, incapable lawyers or even our mothers to avoid placing blame on ourselves.

Back in my day, politics was not about the exchange of ideas or representing the people. No, politics was a practice of catering to special interest groups and using the power of office to re-align districts to protect incumbents’ positions. Most opposing candidates didn’t have any original thoughts or goals, so they merely brought each other down in a flurry of negative ad campaigns. And they wondered why voter turnout was always so low? Amazing.

Back in my day, we had incredible technological advances, including the expansion of the Internet, cellular phones and portable e-mail devices. All of these innovations were designed to help bring people together, yet even as we used them, we continued to build higher walls and thicker doors. Somehow it all made sense at the time.

I hope I don’t give you the impression that I dislike this place, because that just wouldn’t be correct. The world is amazing and beautiful — it just does not always live up to its potential. Like watching a marathon runner stop 100 yards short of the finish, so much is just left undone.

However, even during the darkest times, change was in the air. Little by little, people were beginning to understand that loyalty, kindness and morality were more than trendy catch phrases. Families began to take walks together in the park, neighbors began to mingle again, and citizens began to question their government leaders. National tragedies brought us together and showed us our similarities far outnumber our differences. Violence in the streets began to wane as misguided youth finally realized it wasn’t worth dying for control of a particular street or a particular color of clothing. Maybe the dark days made us appreciate the changes even more. Yes, it took time, but we eventually began to grow out of our adolescence and into the world you see around you decades from now.

I’m sure all of this will be distant history in your world. The one constant in life is change — I know the world will continue to grow through these times and will emerge as a place that will make us all proud.

As I write this, you are laying on the sofa, fighting the flu. Two days ago, your mom and I were in a panic, as you developed a 106-degree fever that sent us into a scary new chapter of parenthood. Today is better though. We want the best for you, and we want you to know how special you are to us.

One other thing. Back in my day, you brought joy to our home, and your mother and I would do anything in our power to make sure you were healthy and happy.
Good to know some things never change.

Editor's note: After a long hiatus, we at The Southwest Voice are thrilled to welcome back longtime contributor Rob Berry.

Calling all parents: Get involved!

As we approach midyear, the assumption can be made that students are doing their job, right? For some parents, that assumption is made once school supplies are purchased. At this point, school becomes the responsibility of the student and teacher. In actuality, the role of parents in their child’s life becomes more important than ever throughout the school year — especially as the year unfolds and students become used to their routine.

Children learn by example and from behaviors modeled by the people they love and admire most. Parents share a bond with their children like no other, and from that bond exists a wonderful opportunity to nurture and inspire them. With this bond comes the responsibility of modeling behaviors that will encourage success in life.

By showing an interest in education, parents are demonstrating the attitude needed to succeed in school.

As the school year progresses, rather than telling your children they need to do their homework, ask them to show you what they worked on today. Asking to see their homework shows an interest in what they are doing. By showing interest you will encourage them to be interested in their work as well, thus cultivating positive study habits that will lead to a successful school year and education. Showing how school can be fun is far more likely to lead to success rather than lecturing and expecting children to do their work on their own. Children need guidance from the people they love most in the world — their parents.

When adults least expect it, children are watching what is going on around them. They are very aware of their environment and what the adults in their lives are doing, their attitudes and beliefs. They see how hard you work to provide for them. Working hard to earn good grades as a child is like working hard to earn money as an adult. If you are willing to work hard with your children on their education, you will instill in them the skills need for success in life.

Other ways you can model good behavior is by staying in contact with teachers. Rather than calling or e-mailing teachers only when something negative happens, get in touch just to see how your child is doing in school. Not only will you give a teacher a chance to brag about a student, you will be showing your children you care about their education in a positive way. Remember, showing rather than telling is the key to success!

— Amy Luther is an eighth grade teacher at Stonecreek Junior High in the Panama Buena Vista Union School District.