Bakersfield.com Herb Benham

HERB BENHAM: Retirement just didn't cut it for Big Ed

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:52:24 PST

Big Ed is not small.

Sometimes when you preface a name with "Tiny" or "Big" you mean the opposite.

HERB BENHAM: Not to sound desperate, but please invite us

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:26:50 PST

A friend is turning 60. There's a lot of that going around. I'm glad I haven't caught the disease.

We didn't know it was his 60th until a friend told us. She had been invited to the party. It seemed a given that we would have been invited too.

HERB BENHAM: Let the river quench our dusty stretch of valley

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:35:16 PST

I like a dry river. Especially in the winter. It's good for the dogs.

For the dogs, especially a blind chocolate lab, it's more open space in which to run.

HERB BENHAM: The man in black (with a few unfortunate white spots)

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:09:49 PST

I've taken to wearing black. Black shirt, black pants, black shoes and black socks.

I draw the line at black underwear. Some people make a living wearing black underwear. A good living. I'm not one of them.

HERB BENHAM: Prayer and cinnamon rolls - a good start to the day

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:44:45 PST

Parking at the Prayer Breakfast was $5.

Five bucks? Most mornings you could shoot a cannon across the parking lot behind Rabobank and not even hit a pigeon.

HERB BENHAM: I'm stickin' with Bakersfield -- at least 45 days of the year

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:38:58 PST

Friends came to dinner. We have dinner once a year. It's a chance to compare notes.

Things happen in between. Good things, usually. Trips are taken, movies seen and children grow up.

HERB BENHAM: It's getting hard for a survivalist to survive

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:28:43 PST

The rains. We had damage. I'm making my assessments.

The roof held. That's good. Roofs can leak and mess with your mental stability. If your roof leaks, your mental stability is gone.

HERB BENHAM: For whom the Taco Bell tolls

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:57:33 PST

Glen Bell died. That probably doesn't mean much. It didn't to me until I focused on the "Bell" part.

Bell founded Taco Bell in 1962. His first store was in Downey. He sold tacos for 19 cents.

HERB BENHAM: On losing faith, the Golden Globes and weather

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:43:51 PST

Msgr. Craig Harrison of St. Francis was quick on the draw. I'd written a column on William Lobdell, a former religion reporter for the L.A. Times who lost his faith after spending eight years covering the Catholic Church sex scandals, faith healer Benny Hinn and Paul Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Lobdell spoke at CSUB last Thursday. Harrison wrote:

HERB BENHAM: Meet the only four dudes who don't like 'Avatar'

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:52:14 PST

A friend was transformed by the movie. When he told me about "Avatar" his eyes sparkled like creek water. He seemed lighter on his feet than he had been before seeing the movie, as if he were no longer subject to the laws of gravity.

The daughter of another friend wanted to move to Pandora, the planet where the movie takes place. So did her father. They wanted to live in the big tree, or at least in a tree nearby.

HERB BENHAM: All obits should have a list of survivors this long

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:08:34 PST

Love the obits. I don't want to be in the obits, but I love reading them.

Last week's favorite was Charlene Myri Richardson. I didn't know her, but I recognized her. Charlene was a member of the take-charge club.

HERB BENHAM: The heart shops where the heart wants

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:34:17 PST

The new year started with a visit to Stinson's to buy a refill for my at-a-glance daily calendar. I might have gone to Stinson's in the southwest, but my heart is at the original Stinson's on Baker Street in east Bakersfield.

There is something fundamental about buying a calendar. It's a positive statement, an act of faith. It says, "I'm going forward. Come with me. We'll go together."

HERB BENHAM: The panini maker is pressed into action

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:39:57 PST

For Christmas, a panini maker.

It was a gift, thinly disguised, like a CD, that you give because you want it yourself. Normally, a man is scored when he does this. However, Sue gave me the "Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium" CD and then promptly borrowed it when she went out of town. We're even.

HERB BENHAM: Lexus rides (make that whimpers) off into the sunset

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:05:02 PST

End of the year. End of the car.

If there is a place in heaven for pets, might there be a place for cars? Favorite cars are like large pets with bigger appetites. They don't ask much except your heart, your soul and your wallet.

HERB BENHAM: Sometimes it ain't easy being giving

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:38:43 PST

The call came two days before Christmas. It started with: "We're not looking for a handout."

I had written a piece on Mike Brown and Randy Harden, the guys who started "Bikes for Bakersfield." They give away bikes during Christmas. Last year, they gave away 250 bikes to children whose families probably wouldn't have been able to afford them.