Soar with Eagles

Some decades ago I took an adventurous drive across the middle of the West on U.S. Highway 50. I had my camera with me and got some great shots...but this was one of those trips where the big one (not a fish) got away.

Highway 50 ends in the middle of California, and at least in those days there were not any clearly marked detours.

So I stopped the car, sat the camera on my dash, and opened up a map on the hood. About a minute into my perusal I hear this familiar "rattle" a few feet away. My juices started to flow. I knew I hadn't moved around so I shouldn't have been the irritant that had this beast shaking it's tail.

Then from behind me I feel a gust of wind, and then?

A huge Golden Eagle swept over my shoulder, dipped to the ground, and popped right back up with this very upset rattlesnake in the grip of the Eagle's talons. And where was my camera for all this? Still sitting there on the dash.

Well for the most part I've been pretty kind to birds since then, and the word must have gotten. Because this past weekend, the BIG BIRD you see here visited this Austrian Pine in the backyard and seemed to say, "Okay, Paul, go get your camera. I don't have all day."

It's no Golden Eagle, although it is about the same size. It is a Female Ferruginous Hawk, probably here to make sure the open area behind us is rodent free.

"Could you just move your head a little bit back to your left?"

"Yeah, but make it quick. I'm late for supper."

"SNAP!"

"Thank you, ma'am. Will I see you back around these parts again, any time soon?"

"Too hard to tell. Is that a digital?"

"Yeah, Nikon D-70."

"Nice! See you around. Prairie dogs are barkin'. I gotta fly."


Wow!

Mighty Eagles

50 years ago a bunch of students from working class families outside Los Angeles, got their education in Bell, California at BELL HIGH SCHOOL. Oh, there were some bright and talented members of that 1960 class. But sociologists weren't convinced we'd amount to much. But as we returned to Bell High on homecoming and 50 year reunion day, that sure wasn't the way we felt.

The entire high school band stepped out of class to greet us. As fellow offensive lineman on the football team, Warren Sapp (different Warren Sapp) quipped, we never got this kind of salute when we were playing. Of course none of us could remember a football game we won.

Here's that football field. It has changed very little in 50 years. One change you can't see well in the picture is a fast-food restaurant that's taken over the site of Bell Plumbing and Heating. That's where my Dad used to work on his days off as a fireman.

That's Bell's Warren Sapp down there with a little less hair than he owned in 1960. That's his wife Mary on the right. Classmates Loretta and Elaine on the left.

We ran into a number of jaw dropping revelations on campus. This one really blew our minds. See all the names on the back of that Tee Shirt down there? They are names of Bell High Graduates who are now employed at Bell High School. The man wearing the shirt, a math teacher, graduated in 1969.

I'm pretty confident we didn't have anyone working in Bell willing to reside within ten miles of the place.

We were really impressed that pretty much the same physical plant could hold twice the number of students it held in 1960.

We were overwhelmed with the politeness, the self confidence and the pride this new student body carried with them.

Oh, we've had our life successes. That's Larry Ramos vocal lead and CEO of the Association. One of his group's songs, "Never My Love," is still the third most played single in radio history. I was a big fan of their hit "Wendy." The students revealed a mural in honor of Larry on the cafeteria's Wall Of Fame during our visit.

That's Steve Snyder on the left below, member of a very successful San Francisco law firm. He is sitting next to Rich Case, my college room mate. Rich was trained as an engineer, but has since gotten his Masters degree in environmental science, and is a consultant to agencies wanting to preserve their forests.

He is most famous amongst us for taking a copy of the "Whole Earth Catalog," traveling to British, Colombia in the late 1960's, finding some land he could homestead, and building his cabin from hand. It still exists, and he spends a lot of time there. A warning to anyone wanting to visit. It involves a two hour canoe trip with portaging to get there.

That's Paula Prewitt Perich on the right, who has had a very successful marketing and public relations career. She flew in from Texas to hug Alice (Purcell) Goecke, as we all did. That's because Alice, once again demonstrated some incredible skills at bringing us all together, and getting us to behave.

It is not the best shot I have of Tim Ewing, but I wanted to show him in his comfort zone. Tim was a starting forward on the basketball team. They fared much better in competition than the football team. He is standing right underneath the same basket that captured his jump shots 50 years ago. (They have a new gym, but have kept the old one.)

Tim is retired from careers in steel and pharmaceuticals. He owned a company in one field, and was national sales manager in the other.

John Shilling (not shown) is a prominent attorney in Newport Beach. Tom Wariner (not shown) is a Superior Court judge in Northern California. Kenny Long (not shown), carved a great career in journalism. And that is just a sampling.

But I've buried the lead a bit. If those sociologists, and statisticians were to look at the futures of today's Bell High School students, they'd likely conclude, as they did with us, their chances of thriving in this society are slim. This town is currently rife with scandal. With language barriers, poverty level incomes, and crippling costs of living, you'd guess success would be the last goal on these students minds. But WE now know different.

As we cheered together, shared tales of yore, and new student adventures in 2010? As we sang the fight song and Alma Mater together, we found an instant bond. We share a pride. We know they are going to make it. And one of the reasons they are going to make it is that same pride we all had in ourselves....that when were told we couldn't do it? We said, and this new student body says, "WATCH US!!!"

"ON BELL HIGH SCHOOL." "WE UNITE TO SING THY PRAISES, PLEDGING WILLING HEART AND HAND." "GET THAT BALL AND FIGHT." "GO BELL!"

How Many?

Let's get this started. Mark Twain, a roll model of mine, said over and over again, "there are three kinds of lies, lies, damn lies, and statistics."

He said it so many times, that even though he attributed it to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, most people are determined to assign it to Twain.

Let me add to that a quote from my ex-wife Karen. An accomplished lobbyist, she must have said this ten times a day.

"DO YOUR HOMEWORK!"

Like Twain I doubt Karen would take quote creation credit.

What does any of this have to do with Bell, California and its scandal?

Well, I've been doing my homework, and I'm about to share with you some "lies, damn lies, and statistics."

The first harmless lie comes from me. "No one who graduated from Bell High School in the Summer class of 1960 still lives there." I won't declare that an absolute truth fearing there is a straggler hiding in the bushes. Suffice it to say the character of Bell has morphed into a whole new world. And, if we just stick to the conclusion we typically apply to these statistics, the change is not for the better.

Let's look at some of the conclusions drawn by City-data.com. They have pulled their supporting numbers from a number of sources, including the census.

. Median household income is below the state average. ($39,394.00)

. Unemployment percentage is above the state average. (15.7 % April of this year)

. Cost of living index as of 2009 is very high. (162.0 in Bell compared to U.S Avg. 100)

. The size of Bell is 2.48 square miles.

. The population of Bell in 1960 was approximately 20 thousand.

. The population of Bell today is just under 40 thousand.

. Just under 20 thousand of that 40 thousand are foreign born.

. The city is 90 percent Hispanic.

Bell has no theatres. (They had two in 50's, one in the 60's.)

It has four small motels listed ( I didn't see them), no hotels.

The streets are narrow.

Most of the housing stock can be traced back to the 1930's and 1940's.

(They tore our house down in the 70's to make room for a school. My sisters and I argue whether the historical Reinertson site is now in the middle of a parking lot, or a grassy play area of the school. Can't give you a date but my sister Brenda remembers Dad telling us he paid about $2,500.00 for the house in the late 30's. And she remembers him negotiating with the bank and got a $ 25.00 a month mortgage until he could afford to pay $50.00 a month. Thanks to an alleged corrupt city government that house today would be valued at over $400,000.00. My other sister, Theda and her husband Jerry still own property in Bell. They say they HAD noticed taxes seemed to be getting a little high?)

So you can probably guess my level of disappointment as the tour bus inched into town. And you would be WRONG!

Here are some other numbers for you.

Bell has one of the lowest property crime rates in the entire L.A. Basin.

The divorce in Bell rate hovers around 5%.

I saw very few homes that weren't freshly painted, and yards immaculately landscaped.

I know there must be some, but I saw not one spray can's worth of graffiti.

Not everyone on that bus is going to agree with me, but I LIKE THE NEW BELL. It really is SWELL.

And that really raises my indignation towards these city officials ripping off people who they knew were vulnerable. And they were ripping off people who clearly care.

But wait until we get to our trip to Bell High School on Home Coming day. That's coming next.

Is that a crack in the BELL?

"So where you all from?"

"Bell, California!"

"Oh, you mean Bell Gardens?"

"No, Bell!"

"Was that Bellflower?"

"No, Bell!"

"Oh, now I get it. You all are from Belair?"

"NO, Bell!"

"Belmont Shore?"

"LOOK, PAL, remember the little town where the city manager, mayor, some council people and a few others employees were caught making fortunes, at the cost of poor local taxpayers? Some of them, we are told, were making more than the President of the United States!"

"OOOH, THAT BELL!"

This is going to be all about the town I grew up in, ( 9 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles) and I'm not going to put a lot in this first posting. I don't want to risk boring you.

Let me just say to you, me and my classmates just held the 50 year anniversary celebration of our graduation from Bell High School. It took place in Huntington Beach this past week. What a hoot! The highlight for most of us was a bus trip to and through Bell. We got to look at our old houses, then a student led tour of our high school.

There was the anticipation, the tour, and then some really wonderful flips of our expectations at the high school.

Just as a starter, that is not the City Manager up there cutting a deal with another city employee. That is me and my former classmate Loretta. We are PRETENDING we are cutting a deal.

The reason we had time to take this picture? We had a picnic on park benches right next to city hall. It was an arrangement made long before the scandal broke.

I'm not going to say much more at this point. But I'll attempt to tease you a bit by repeating my own revelation as a career journalist. "The STORY you think you have is NEVER the SAME STORY after you get there.

I won't promise a new posting every day. But I'm going to try. SO? Hope to see you soon.