Comic Books,

I was 8 years old when my mom walked into the apartment with a large box of comics that she had found in the garage of the apartment we had just moved into. She was always buying me books to get me interested in reading. I had an encyclopedia and several other books that I'd read, but these comic books mesmerized me from day 1!. I sat down and there were these people with awesome powers and the artwork was great and I also dug the ads in the comics as well. The ads that said I could lift a couch if I ordered the product which was no doubt steroids or something.

I'd buy comic books from liqour stores and bookstores with my allowance, when I turned 10 I found this wonderful store that sold nothing but comic books called Galaxy Comics in Redondo Beach. Every week I would go with my allowance and buy some comics, ride my bike home and read every single one of them. Justice League, Superman, Batman, Shazam and most DC Comics were my early interests. Once in awhile they'd have specials where you could buy 10 comics for $1. So my comic collection grew steadily from an early time.

When I was 12 we moved from Redondo Beach to Artesia and there weren't any comic book stores in the area. The only place I could buy any comics was from 7-11 and usually they would be in bad shape from people mishandling them on the racks, so my comic collecting curtailed for a few years until we moved to Chino. Chino had a few comic book stores in the area and I started back up with my collecting and at this point I started in with more Marvel titles as well such as Punisher, X-Men, Avengers etc. as well as the DC's I collected before. Once again the collection grew some more.

Then with some friends we discovered this awesome place in City of Industry called Frank and Son's which is a collectors dream. If you collect it they have it. Comics, cars, sports cards...anything. There were vendors who would sell comics 5 for a $1 or ahave other bargains and deals. My collection grew even more!! In January 1994 I enlisted in the Army reserves and went off to South Carolina and then I went to Virginia for AIT. I remember getting into a cab to go into town and asked the driver if there were any comic book stores around, he said yes and dropped me and a buddy off at one. While in AIT I bought enough comics to fill a suitcase!!

When I came home my comic book store in Chino had changed owners and had become really shady and eventually it closed down due to them selling drugs and teens doing other things there as well. That left me with Frank and Son's as my only source for comics. Before that there were several stores in close proximity. One in old town Pomona, Paper Hero Comics in Chino and then one on Mountain and Philadelphia ran by 2 old ladies who would smoke inside the store!

Eventually we lost our house in Chino and I moved around for a bit before winding up in Claremont and I found a store located inside the old school house ran by Chris Peterson who like me was and is an avid collector. So I began going to him for my comics as well as Frank and Son's once in awhile. I remember making the comment its funny that he is in an old classroom in the original Claremont High School when kids probably used to get in trouble for reading comics in class. He ran his store "Comic Bookie" there and in another location in an industrial park for well over 20 years so when he made the announcement he was going out of business I was like damn...now who is going to be my guy?? lol Luckily by now I had a car and Chris told me about his friend in Cucamonga named Chris Brady who had a store, so when I went over there I was really happy to see that it was a great store ran by great people. Once again my comic collection grew. Now comic book stores thanks to the resurgence of comic based movies have made a comeback in the IE.

For anybody that knows me and is interested...I have well over 2,000 comic books and it is still growing, not as much as it once did due to comics being like $2.99 each now, but it is still growing.

Then and Now

Then- Growing up we would ride our bikes all over the city. To friend's houses, beach, arcades, parks, malls etc. Without a care or fear in the world. All we knew is we had to be back when the street lights came on.
Now- With all the child predators out there and Megan's Law maps most parents with good reason dont allow their kids to go 2 blocks without knowing where they are.

Then- Speaking of riding bikes...we would just jump onto our bikes and the only protection we had was the clothes on our backs.
Now- I've seen kids with enough pads and helmet to look like hockey goalies!!

Then- When a teacher called home to say your child had misbehaved the parents would accept responsibility and discipline thier child accordingly.
Now- Parents do the whole "Not my kid" and somehow want to blame the teacher for their kids bad behaviors.

Then- We used to close off our street and have block parties because everybody in the neighborhood knew each other.
Now- Most people dont even acknowledge each other anymore.

Then- Athletes usually played for one or two teams in a career and you could buy a jersey knowing your favorite athlete would more than likely stay with your team
Now- Players change teams so much that I refuse to buy any jersey with a current players name on the back.

Then- You could tell jokes about different races and people would laugh.
Now- If you tell any race jokes, you are labled insensitive or a racist.

Then- The Government wasn't so involved in banning foods, they as they should felt it was an individuals responsibility to watch what they ate and how much of it.
Now- The government wants to ban or limit anything that they consider unhealthy for us because they think we cant do it ourselves anymore.

Then- McDonalds French Fries tasted so much better because they had enough salt and Pepsi was as sweet as it should be.
Now- McDonalds French fries taste similar to what cardboard may taste like and Pepsi isnt as good as it once was.

Then- We had a crappy Governor in California named Jerry Brown
Now- We have a crappy Governor in California named Jerry Brown

Then- I could buy a pack of 12 baseball cards for 25 cents
Now- I can buy a pack of 6 baseball cards for $2

Then- We would all pile into the back of a friends truck and go play baseball, goto the beach...etc.
Now- Try that now and you would get a serious ticket!!

Then- Kids were taught how to be resilient and if you fail at something you get back up and try again!!
Now- Kids are very much sheltered and parents try to shield their kids from failure. So much so that Ive read about parents accompanying their child on job interviews. Or threatening a teacher with a lwasuit if he/she gets a D or an F

Sticking up for the Common Man,

Yesterday after I worked out I stopped at a Chevron adjacent to my gym here in Claremont. As I walked in to get my Vitamin Water and some gum I overheard some older lady at the register getting kind of surly with the 20 something dude behind the register. The lady was in her late 40s early 50s with some coifed hairdo. I walked towards the register to pay for my stuff and I hear the lady actually giving the poor kid grief for the gas prices. The kid looks at me and I look at him and the lady just continues. Saying how can he keep raising the prices? That's when I said "Now wait a minute, does your dumb ass actually think that dude is the one who sets the prices?" The lady looks in my direction with a "how dare you talk to me like that look". I said "that dude is only following what the head honchos are telling him to do." I continued "now why dont you go get into your gas guzzling Sebring out there, go home, get on your computer and bitch to the people that matter and leave this poor kid alone. She got huffy puffy and left. At this point is when the manager in the back finally decided to appear and asked what all the ruckus was. I explained in brief what had happened. We all had a laugh and in the end she gave me my Vitamin Water and gum for free!!!

My Favorite Places to Eat,

From time to time I will also be posting about my favorite restaraunts, mostly I will be emphasizing on Claremont eaterys. For my first post I'll talk about my favorite restaraunt in Claremont, Dr. Grubbs. Dr. Grubbs is described as healthy California cuisine. When I go I usually go for my favorite which is grilled blackened salmon with a lemon thyme sauce served on a bed of cous cous.

The basic menu is very simple you start by choosing a proten which is either a grilled salmon or chicken or a grilled blackened salmon or blackened chicken. You then choose a sauce that goes with the protein..sun dried pesto sauce, lemon thyme sauce, apple aioli sauce and there are others. If you are unsure as to what sauce to choose the cooks will always make good suggestions. After that you choose a side which varies from the aforementioned cous cous, rice pilaf, mixed vegetables and potatoes as well. There are also other items that have been added to the menu which include any salad using the proteins. They have also incorporated tofu as well which my vegetarian friends say is pretty good.

The prices are very reasonable 2 people can eat a good portioned and filling but not fattening meal for about $20. So if you are ever in Claremont and not sure where to eat..Dr Grubbs is an excellent choice. They are open Mon-Sat and you can phone ahead your order.

Things That Really Piss Me Off,

1. When you are behind another car at a stop light and when the light turns green, they dont go because they are well into a cell phone conversation and when you honk your horn to get them going they get mad at you! What the fuck dumb ass? When the light turns green YOU GO!!!

2. Standing in line at a fast food restaraunt and when the person in front of you finally gets to the front, they realize that they dont know what they want. They were too busy chatting with their friend to think about what they wanted.

3. Evil people- When a dude beats a woman into a coma over a parking spot in New York and says she started it and he was defending himself. When 18 people rape an 11 year old girl in Texas. When gang bangers kill an innocent baby in a drive by shooting. Politicians bilking tax payers out of money. Bullys!.

4. Cell phone salesman at the mall- I hate when Im walking through the mall and the minute you make eye contact with a cell phone salesperson they want to sell you a phone. Its to the point the minute I see one of their carts I look down...I dont even want to hear their pitch.

5. Drama!! I hate when people date horrible people and then want to whine and cry to the people around them that all men/women are assholes!! Look in the mirror asshole there is something wrong with you for you to continue to date these losers.

Gay Marriage,

Why oh why are people so opposed to gay people marrying? The most common arguement comes from the religious right who consistently use biblical verses to fight against Gay Marriage saying that God is opposed to Gay Marriage and then they begin to quote scripture, but I have a question and let me preface this by saying that I am by no means atheist. I do believe in a higher power, but I am not a hyporcrite when it comes to religion like so many are.
Now these same religious right peeps who use the bible as their main tool in fighting gay marriage tend to forget or not pay attention to some of the bible's more controversial verses...

Timothy 2:12 - States do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man and that she must remain silent. Soooo...women arent suppose to be teachers?? and must remain silent?? Im all for that second part when Im watching football...but why arent bible thumpers enforcing that?

Samuel 15:3 says- Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Im no genius but that sounds a lot like genocide. So the bible advocates genocide too??

Thats just 2 verses, Im far too lazy to look for more verses. So why else should gay marriage be legalized? Well anybody that has been paying attention to the news knows that our state is in a financial mess. So how much is a marriage license? $45-$84 in California depending on the county. Now multiply that by how many would get one. Now add to that all of the rentals, florists, tuxes, dresses, limos etc. that would be bought and rented. All of that is sales tax people!
Let me conclude this by saying I am not Gay and personally could careless about this issue, except for the fact that I'd like to see our state get out of the mess that it's in and this is one way to do it that doesnt raise taxes which is what that asshole Jerry Brown wants to do!!

Sooooo This One Time,

One time myself and my friends Joe and Shaun decided to goto a bar and grill called Buffalo Inn here in nearby Upland. When we got there there was already a few people waiting to be seated and from the looks of it the girl who seats people seemed kind of new and unsure of herself as she had a look of exasperation on her face. All of a sudden she walks inside. 5 minutes go by and she hasnt come back out. All of us are standing or sitting around looking at each other like ok...now what do we do?
My friend Joe gets up and walks over to the stand where the clipboard was that had the names of who was next. He picks it up and looks down and just blurts out (I forget the names) Smith Party of 3. My friend Shaun gets up and grabs 3 menus and the people look at us like ok we dont care we are just hungry. So Shaun walks them over to a table and hands them their menus. Joe then says "Jones party of 4" So I grabs the menus and walk them to an empty clean table. We do this for 2 more groups until we look up and the girl comes back out with the manager. The manager looks around and looks at Joe with the clipboard and just laughs. He takes over to a table asks what kind of beer we want and brings us a pitcher and just thanks us. TRUE STORY!!

Claremont City Council,

On March 8th the citizens of Claremont will elect 3 new members of the City Council, today Id like to blog about what I'd do if I was elected to the City Council. First I'd like to introduce common sense to the Council, there will be no more stupid decisions such as trolleys that dont really go anywhere or building of roundabouts which confuse the hell out of people. Those 2 ideas were a complete waste of money. I would also like to expedite the whole building of new businesses in the city, does it really take a year to approve and build a freakin Norms Restaraunt? Or a Fresh and Easy? Hell Claremont's processes are so foot dragging that the Walgreens we wanted at Peppertree Square backed out. Also the unoccupied building on Mills and Foothill, we would reopen the discussion about a 7-11 over there, all the elitists in Northern Claremont who picture Pomona 7-11s when this was proposed will watch a slide show about some of the newer 7-11s that have been built such as the one in Ranch Cucamonga on Haven which doesnt even feel like a 7-11. Claremont needs sales tax revenue and a building that was built 2 years ago and remains empty does not generate revenue.
Also I will do whatever it takes to attract more car dealerships to the Claremont Auto Center off of the 10 fwy and Indian Hill. Claremont Toyota is the only dealership open and with all of the recalls they have really taken a beating. With Toyota being probably Claremont's biggest source of tax revenue, once the recalls happened and once Toyota got bad press, that meant that dealership was going to take a hit.
Also business property owners would have to go through the city before making stupid decisions such as not renewing Albertson's lease and thinking you will get another business....which you haven't been able to do since you made that decision 6 years ago! Now once all that has been accomplished and tax revenue starts coming back in we will find The Claremont Police Department and new suitable location because the closet we have them in now is just not a good location. I propose the corner of Monte Vista and Foothill has being developed into a new Police Station. The Old Police Station we will discuss uses for.
I will propose tweaking our drive thru ordinances. The Village area is off limits to drive thrus, but Peppertree Square, The Old Albertson's Center, Vons Shopping Center on Baseline are all viable places to put a drive thru. I dont want Burger Kings or McDonalds, Im thinking Walgreens, CVS or any other drive thru pharmacy.
I feel cities need to stop whining about State and National decisions and start taking responsibility for our own. Vote for The Ron!!!