TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

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1. 

   STEVE FLORES: Diving into summertime memories

   By Steve Flores

   Saturday, May 18 2013 11:59 AM

   Canals and the Union Avenue Plunge: That was our southeast neighborhood's primary refuge from the San Joaquin Valley's oppressive summer heat during the 1960s. We shared the canals with crawdads, broken beer bottles and other unknown sources of refuse. Disgusting, I know, but it was almost a rite of youthful passage back in the day. It also helped us get through the 110-degree Bakersfield summers.

   Other than the Union Avenue Plunge, which was a one-mile bike ride away from our Watts Drive home, the only pool we knew of in southeast Bakersfield belonged to my friend Dick Cook, who lived across the way from Casa Loma Street.

   So it was with great surprise and amazement that my dad announced he was going to buy a Sears, Roebuck & Co....

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2. Bold, beautiful visit makes my wife's day

   You have always been very nice, and I greatly appreciate it when you take the time to send me an email and describe how I may have stirred up a memory, reconnected you to a place, person or thing or, with apologies to my Golden State Junior...
3. 

   STEVE FLORES: Fine art of relaxation and watering plants

   It was my maternal grandmother's summer evening ritual.After the last dinner dishes had been cleaned, rinsed, washed and put away by me, my brothers and sister tall enough to reach the sink, our Grandma Ochoa would casually stroll out the...

4. STEVE FLORES: Recognition not reward in itself

   "There is no shame in being poor. Poor doesn't mean dirty. Poor doesn't mean stupid. And poor does not mean being mean," said recording artist Sixto Rodriguez. Dignity in poverty. Although he had never been to our home near Watts Drive and...
5. 

   STEVE FLORES: Soap watching brings memories of Mom, Grandma

   At first I thought we had visitors. I was working in our den on my computer. The design of our home allows you to hear the television and conversations from our living room, which is about 20 feet away from the den. I heard my wife,...
6. 

   STEVE FLORES: Friend reminds us to 'remember the butterflies'

   I didn't know what to expect when I met my friend Kenny Elmore for breakfast several weeks ago. The last time I saw Kenny was about two years ago at the signing party for his book, "One Second." The room was filled with family, friends...

7. STEVE FLORES: The healing power of a dolphin stampede

   According to naturalists, a "dolphin stampede" is a rare sight. Sightseers aboard Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari boat out of Dana Point in Southern California recently witnessed and videotaped this breathtaking phenomenon. The...

9. STEVE FLORES: Christmas Eve present of years ago resonates today

   I think of Mr. Right every Christmas Eve. He was the father of five very well-behaved young children whose ages I would guess to be between 4 and 10. Mr. Right isn't his true name, but I give this very real man this name out of respect for...

10. STEVE FLORES: Chipmunks, Christmas tree hunting and family memories

    The family "cut--your-own" Christmas tree excursion was usually held a few Saturdays before Christmas. We would all meet early morning at my father's house in southeast Bakersfield. Although my dad, Larry, has been gone for many years now,...

11. STEVE FLORES: Grandma, President Kennedy and Thanksgiving Day

    I couldn't understand why Grandma didn't attend Mass with us on Sunday morning. Like a Marine Corps drill sergeant, she made sure my brothers, sisters and dad, who was a Marine, knew that missing Mass or holy days of obligation was...

12. STEVE FLORES: A backyard, night sky, butter popcorn and history

    The swamp cooler on our modest Watts Drive home in southeast Bakersfield provided minimal comfort from the oppressive valley summer heat. It has been more than 50 years, but I still have vivid memories of my Dad letting us escape the...

13. STEVE FLORES: Drive-in theaters much more than the movie

    It was almost like going camping. Blankets, pillows, lawn chairs, ice chest, snacks and homemade buttered popcorn were all on the checklist of necessary supplies to take for the family. Yosemite National Park? San Clemente Beach? No. It was...

14. STEVE FLORES: Doctor's charity reverberates decades later

    It is nearly impossible for me to drive by the abandoned and deserted Baker Street building without thinking of him. The street trash, weeds and dust surrounding the building belie the rich history and significance of a popular doctor who...