Storm watch

There's a Storm tonight in the Claudia Frometa campaign headquarters in downtown Downey. Storm the German shepherd, that is. He and Claudia's husband Nolveris Frometa were manning the office when I walked by on my evening walk. Storm, with his wagging tail, was very welcoming.

Humans of Downey - Garth (2/2)

"I am like my father in work ethic. My dad taught me that if you want something you need to work for it. He told me flat out, 'I'm not going to give it to you, you'll have to earn it.' Based on that teaching is how I looked at things.

"My dad was a roofer. He was hard-working. That's what I grew up with. That's what I did early on, was work hard at tearing roofs off. I remember driving one day and I saw a real nice car. He said, 'Hey, you like that car? Would you like to have it?' I said, 'Yeah, dad.' He said, 'You work hard enough, you can buy that car.' I thought that's very good because that's life—you want it, then work hard for it. So, it made me appreciate things when I worked hard to get them.

"It's why I loved my 1970 Camaro that I bought. Even though it wasn't the newest one, I loved it because it was mine and I bought it myself. I appreciated it more and took care of it better. It wasn't the shiniest car on the lot, but it was mine.

"My mom, on the other side, said, 'If you don't vote, you can't complain about anything.' Her mindset was to participate and back people that you thought were going to do the right things for you. Especially in politics. I didn't consider her a politician. She was just a grandmother with kids that wanted a safe neighborhood, and she saw things that were going in a direction that she thought were detrimental to having safe neighborhoods, e.g. a lack of street lights. So, she got a petition signed to get street lights installed. You can't just sit in your house and complain about things. You have to get up and do something about the problems. So, my mom taught me to get involved in the solutions to the problems I saw."
~ Garth

Humans of Downey - Haley

"One of my earliest experiences of success was when I was in high school. I was a swimmer and water polo player at school and then I got my first job at Blizzberry on Florence Avenue. They noticed my commitment to the job and so they promoted me to assistant manager while I was still just 16 years old. This early success affected my later decisions. One example is during the summer of my senior year I was working long hours. There were nights I wouldn't come home until 11:00. I thought, 'I'm a teenager, I shouldn't be working these long hours.' I thought about that and how I needed to remember I'm still a kid, I don't need to work this much. I need to have some fun in my life also. So that early success taught me to have balance in my life.

"When the manager asked me to work more hours, I felt obligated to work as much as they needed me to but at the same time, there was a struggle involved. It taught me to focus on my own self while reaching for higher goals. It's hard to say 'no' when you're asked to take on a challenge. You think, 'Well, I've done a good job before and now they want me to do more,' and you want to prove to them you can do it or you feel an obligation to continue to work hard for them. So, yes, it's hard to say 'no.'

"Sometimes, especially because now I work for my dad, you bring work home with you, and I work in the political world also so your job never ends. So, there are times you try to find the right amount, you try to find your own time away. But as a young person, the expectations are very high, especially in the political world, that you should be working 24/7. So, I don't think I have the ability to say 'no' yet because I'm still a young person and there are very high expectations. I just don't think I've reached the highest success yet that I can say 'no.'"
~ Haley

Kissing babies

Babies and politicians have gone together since way back in President Andrew Jackson's day, in 1833. Although not kissing a baby has never been proven to cause an electoral defeat, no one wants to take a chance.

But as Mayor Pro Tem Alex Saab discovered, you can't please 'em all. Council Member Roger Brossmer, Mayor Luis Marquez, and Council Member Sean Ashton had better luck with their crowds at tonight's Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

The Honorable Del Clawson

Near the Downey Civic Center flag poles is a small memorial to Del Clawson, who served eight terms (1963-1975) as our representative in the U. S. House of Representatives.

After his retirement, he lived in Downey until his death in 1992.

Ireland - Belfast

This was our only full day in Belfast, so we took a "hop on/ hop off" bus ride around the city in order to see what interested us. We could then take a later bus to the place we wanted to visit and then hop on to come back to the hotel. A guide was on the bus with us indicating points of interest and giving us some historical background.

A major theme of his talk was the political struggles Northern Ireland has gone through and that still exist today. These gates that separate a Protestant neighborhood from a Catholic one are opened each morning for travel but then closed and locked each evening to prevent any possibility of conflict. The fence runs for three miles between the neighborhoods. Other neighborhoods have learned to integrate different peoples but there are still some that hang on to the old hates.

Bonnie and I went to look at another side of Belfast. C. S. Lewis, one of our favorite writers, was born in Belfast and spent his early years there before moving to England to continue his schooling and later teaching.

We went to this statue of him in front of a local library. The statue is supposed to be Digory in front of The Wardrobe. We tried to get into Narnia but sometimes the magic just doesn't work.

Political issues

Being a civil servant isn't always cutting ribbons, kissing babies and making important plans for other people. Sometimes, it’s helping people through a tough time that neither of you have much control over.

Councilman Vargas recently organized a community meeting for his district to talk about CalTrans’ widening of Interstate 5 where it goes through his district. He brought two city engineers to discuss the ramifications to the residences in the area.

There will be street closures, major streets that will go from four lanes to two and other through streets that will be converted into cul-de-sac streets. For 18 months, several hundred families will be subjected to construction noise, dirt and traffic nightmares.

There was a crowded house as the mike was passed around the room so people could ask questions and make comments. The councilman is trying to ease his constituents through this difficult but necessary time.

My vote counts

How am I supposed to write about a political dinner I attended when I have absolutely no interest in politics?

This was my trepidation before Joan and I walked into the Rio Hondo Event Center today and met Patricia Kotze-Ramos, candidate for the new 58th Assembly District. But she was friendly and down to earth as she mingled with the various hierarchies of Downey in her red-white-and-blue outfit. So I thought I'd give her my ear for the night. She seemed to fuse into hugs as if everyone was her best friend. Her smile was not the politician smile I was expecting. It was genuine and comfortable and happy.

Someone sat down at our table and started to talk to Joan and me.

Where are we from? How are we connected to this?

We live in Downey and came to see what it was all about. How was he connected?

He owns a small business. He lives here in Downey. He serves on several boards with “Patty.” In other words, he’s very connected.

We talk for an hour and a half about how Walmart is taking over the world and shutting down small businesses, an African Safari he went on, and the reasons why Patty should be our Assemblywoman. He told us the reasons to pay attention to who we are voting for because without our interest, the wrong people can get into power and make poor and greedy decisions.

Patricia Kotze-Ramos got up at the end of the dinner, made a speech about being excited and the need to press on and ended with thanking others throughout the room.

By the end of our dinner, I want to volunteer and join Soroptimist International of Downey (where Patty is also a member). And I want to pay more attention to what is going on nationally, statewide, and right here in my hometown.