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Local man's trash turns out to be Tijuana's treasure
| Tuesday, Mar 7 2006 10:50 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Mar 7 2006 10:54 PM
Ever throw away something and immediately regret it? Chuck Wall, the former Bakersfield College instructor and full-time purveyor of kindness, was gripped by second thoughts of that nature about three weeks ago.
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In 1993, with the help of a local sponsor, Wall printed up a Spanish-language version of his "Today I Will Commit One Random Act of Kindness" slogan -- hundreds of them. Last month he found a huge stack of the bumper stickers stashed in some nook of his east Bakersfield home -- "Hoy, llevaré a Cabo un Acto de Condad, sin Planearlo y sin Ninguna Razon." They were ancient. He tossed them.
"Then I got to thinking," Wall said. His wife fished out the bumper stickers and Wall mailed them to Mother Antonia, a 77-year-old woman (real name: Mary Clarke) recently profiled by two Washington Post reporters, who lives with and ministers to the incarcerated murderers and drug lords of Tijuana's infamous La Mesa State Penitentiary. Wall included a note: "Maybe you can use these."
Last week he got a response. Seems the "acto de condad" stickers are everywhere.
"Within three days they were all over the place," Wall said. "They're throughout the prison hallways and common areas. The guards have them on their cars. There's a sticker on the front gate leading into the prison. Talk about incongruous."
There are two morals to the story: One, you never know who might need a little kindness; two, think before you irrevocably commit trash to the front curb.
Haggard Highway: Former Kern County Water Agency exec Tom Clark is still plugging away on behalf of Merle Haggard -- and their common hometown of Oildale.
Clark is quietly working with county officials exploring the possibility of an advisory committee that would decide whether, where and how to name a road, highway or interchange in honor of Haggard, the Country Music Hall of Fame singer-songwriter.
Clark said it's as much about promoting Oildale as honoring Haggard, a legendary and influential performer who still evokes mixed feelings in his hometown.
"I know a lot of people who grew up in Oildale that are very successful," Clark said. "But now it's a community that needs a lot of help. It's poorer than it used to be. This is about finding ways to reinvigorate the place."
Interested in helping? Contact your county supervisor.
Heart on a wire: Homer Joy, the man who wrote "Streets of Bakersfield," is still sitting by the phone in Dallas, waiting for a heart transplant. His friends on the professional rodeo circuit are conducting an eBay auction to help defray his medical expenses. He's $40,000 short.
Among the goodies being auctioned off (find the complete list at www.rodeoattitude.com) is a "duster" overcoat that belonged to bull-riding champion Lane Frost, who was gored to death by a bull in 1989. Frost's life was chronicled in the film "8 Seconds."
Joy will have slightly more than eight seconds to get himself to Baylor University Hospital when his new heart comes in. He and wife Suzan are living in temporary quarters eight miles from the hospital. He'll have three hours from the time the phone rings.
Robert Price's column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at rprice@bakersfield.com or 395-7399.