TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. 

   HERB BENHAM: Always a sad day when last Pioneer leaves

   By Herb Benham

   Tuesday, May 22 2012 09:48 AM

   My last purchase: One glass rain gauge (a man can dream, can't he?), a 12-ounce sugar pourer, a green garden rake, a pair of extra-grippy ThermaFit gloves and two pairs of premium grain goatskin work gloves (one a gift for my son, because every man should have a soft pair of work gloves).

   Pioneer Mercantile closed Monday after more than 123 years in business. I visited the store and would have taken it home with me if that were possible. I know you can't buy memories, but I wasn't the only one trying to Monday.

   They came from Wasco, Tehachapi and Taft, farms and cities alike.

   Kelly Wonderly was there before 9 a.m. with her grandson, Jackson Oliver.

   "I wanted to buy him something so he could remember this place," Wonderly said. "So far, we've gotten a horseshoe."

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2. HERB BENHAM: Where angels, headless or not, fear to tread

   A friend was home alone while his wife was on a 10-day trip across the country to see family, which included the can't-do-anything-wrong grandchildren.

3. HERB BENHAM: A glorious day for a glorious sport--unless you're riding

   It was hot. Ninety four when we left. Even a frosty cold beverage struggles against 94.Yesterday, we attended the 5th stage of the Amgen Tour of California, an 18.7 mile-long time trial, that started and finished at BC. I have no idea who won. I was too busy eating the sloppy joe's from Moo Creamery, deep pit chicken from Prime Cut, the pita bread and dips from Cafe Med, bread pudding made by the BC Culinary Arts program washed down by ice-cold rose from Imbibe.

4. HERB BENHAM: They're reading it; they just don't know why

   I learned something about a male friend of mine after he read my column on "Fifty Shades of Grey," the racy novel that is probably outselling the Bible.

5. HERB BENHAM: If nothing else, 'mommy porn' shouldn't be dull

   By Herb Benham

6. HERB BENHAM: Being invited doesn't mean you have to come

   Home, lunch, mail time.

7. After 30 years, the gumption to make call

   It had been 30 years since I had seen him. We were living in L.A. Sue was in law school. I was selling wine. The wine was called Lost Hills. It tasted like it came from Lost Hills, and some of the grapes did.

9. Appetite for knowledge rivals hunger for shrimp

   Thursday I went back to college. I learned something. I might go again, especially if they figure out how to grow bigger shrimp. This was CSUB and the annual Charles W. Kegley memorial lecture put on by the Kegley Institute of Ethics. I'm outing Christopher Meyers, the director of the institute, right now. Heading this department -- whose mission statement is "Inspired by love and guided by reason" (Bertrand Russell) -- is the best job at the university.

10. Bird-watching catches attention of a president

    The other day I received a letter from the Kern Audubon Society. My heart skipped a beat. It had the feel of a college acceptance letter. It was from Madi Elsea, president of Kern Audubon. She noted my growing interest in birds. This sentence grabbed my attention:

11. HERB BENHAM: At baptism, Dad plunged into unusual place

    I forget about the collection plate. I am not in the habit of bringing my wallet to church, because I am not in the habit of going to church.

12. She's pedaling to make our country better

    It almost has become sport to bash the younger generation because they supposedly lack the sabre-rattling qualities of their elders and, by this thinking, will take a knee in a light headwind.

13. White sweater has that Teflon-Don quality

    I have a white sweater. It's cotton. I paid a buck for it.I bought it 12 years ago in a thrift shop in San Juan Capistrano. Most of us get one deal like this. A smoking purchase that we had not planned for but in which we are delighted.

14. HERB BENHAM: Autism doesn't have to be the end of hope

    His story almost sounds too good. Like a piece of fiction. A fantastic tale of man overcoming the impossible.