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The Bakersfield boomerang effect
Topics: Boomerang, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Aaron Lasky, blog, Magazine, April, 2008, Bakersfield Sound
Posted by aarondasteufel Tue Apr 1, 2008 11:50:18 PDT
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The Bakersfield boomerang effect


By Aaron Lasky, Bakotopia.com contributor

I never thought I’d live in Bakersfield - twice.

The first time I visited Bakersfield was the weekend of Aug. 20, 1999 for the “Sideburn Circus,” an event hosted by Authentic Zombie Hotrod Wear and a local car club “The Autoholics.”

It featured Rockabilly bands, hot rods and custom designs, a dragster that did burnouts in the parking lot (very cool), and plenty of vendors selling fun “retro” clothing and merchandise. I was in the magazine business at the time, and just had to see what the hell a sideburn circus was! It was the “first annual,” and I love first-time anythings.

A photographer friend of mine visiting from Germany cruised up to the show as well. Tough gal, she didn’t mind the heat. Still, we were shocked at how hot the town was: 115 degrees in the shade. We spent a lot of time under the misters that vendors had set up around their booths in the very hot parking lot. The event was held at what was the Travel Lodge on Oak Street, next to the old Ghidagichi Lounge. It was definitely magazine-worthy, and I published the article. Good fun, and I knew I’d be back to Bakersfield, many times, before finally moving here.

Long story short: I was born and raised in the tiny town of Mio, Mich. with a population of 5,000 in 5 square miles, the Ausable River running through it, lots of clean lakes, forests, and good deer hunting. After high school, I moved to California, lived in the L.A. area for around 20 years, was a magazine publisher at Petersen Publishing, started Hot Rod DeLuxe magazine, and moved to “Bako” in February 2001 to start Car Kulture DeLuxe Magazine.

Three years later, I moved to Upland for a big increase in pay with the company I worked for. The last day of July 2005, I moved back here. As soon as I saw the sign for Pumpkin Center, I already felt like I had come home.
Yes, I only lived here for three years. The first year was difficult, adjusting to the extreme weather. The summers are hot here and the winters are cold, damp, and foggy. After my second year, I was almost looking forward to the summer, when things would finally dry out. My third year here, I was just getting used to it.

I’m a renter. I like being mobile. One of these days I may buy a home, because I like doing things in the yard and around the house, but for now, paying someone else to be responsible for those things is the life for me. So, when I was relocating to Upland, I had to find an apartment fairly close to work and within my budget.



Surprisingly, not many places offered central air/heat, and cable TV was almost unheard of. The best place I could find for the money was a 740 square-foot, one bedroom, one bath apartment with a box air conditioner in the living room (the air never seemed to make it back to the bedroom, so many times during the summer I wound up sleeping in the living room because it was the only cool spot in the place), and just one uncovered parking space. All that for $900 a month. Bah!

That was just the beginning. I had no TV for a month because it took Dish Network that long to hook me up. No television for a month. Think about that! In order to get high-speed Internet, I had to get DSL (the Satellite company didn't offer it, which meant I had to get a phone line. I hadn’t had a “land-line” for three years because I primarily used my cell phone). So, I paid for that. It took a month to get the DSL hooked up. My first month in the “Inland Empire” (which I call the “Dumpire”) was an entertainment/communication hell.

To my knowledge, nothing happened in the “Dumpire” - no events, nothing. The whole Upland-Rancho Cucamonga-Ontario area is what's known as a “bedroom community.” People work there, and sleep there, and go to either Los Angeles or Orange County for fun-stuff-to-do, because nothing happens there. (The City of Riverside is actually kinda cool, because at least they have some “history.” Sure, something “might” have happened, but nothing was ever advertised, there were no cool papers telling you about local events. And if something ever DID happen, you heard about it afterward. No fun.

So basically, the traffic sucked. Satellite sucked. DSL sucked. Not having central air sucked. Not having a garage sucked. I just worked and slept there. The only time I did anything, or went anywhere, was to travel to Bakersfield to see my best friend and her son, my “surrogate son” (I'll save that long story for another time).

Being back in Bakersfield, I’ve now got a 940 square-foot, two bedroom apartment (it’s nice to have that second bedroom for your home office and extra crap that you don’t seen in your regular living space, you know?) with wonderful central air/heat, and Roadrunner cable with Internet service that was hooked up on my second day here. Damn good service. I’m close to grocery stores, bookstores, and other shopping venues. I can even walk to work if I want to.

My friends are here. My family is here. I can shop until I drop. And the beach is a faster drive than leaving from L.A., plus there’s more things happening here than one might realize. Aside from having the Kern County Fair, there’s the March Meet, the Hot Rod Reunion, and plenty of other car-related events, which I’m really into. Tons of musicians pass through and play in this town.

There’s an “underground” theatre/art scene here, and how many towns have a place where you can take belly-dancing lessons? (I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard about it, and that’s cool.) We have a good diversity of cultures. Name your church and you can go to it. Pick your bar and spend the evening there. But you damn well better have a designated driver, because there’s plenty of police out there doing their job protecting our property, our children, and our lives from drunk drivers. So party on, but do have a plan.

What I hate about this town is when people put it down. The funny thing is, I’ve heard more crap out of the mouths of locals than people who have never been here. Comments such as “it smells like dirt,” “it’s too hot,” “there’s nothing cool to do,” “it’s too conservative,” and so on. Those same people think it’s cool when they hear Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owens sing “The Streets of Bakersfield.” I think it’s our Anthem. There are plenty of things to do here.

Even though the cost of living is rising, it’s still damn low compared to “bigger” California cities (check out costs on the Coast, in L.A., San Diego, or San Francisco, etc., and you’ll know what I mean. Damn expensive).

I’ll live in Bakersfield as long as I have a steady paycheck, which I plan to have for quite some time. As I said, I’m not from here - but its home to me.

Thanks, Buck, and thanks Dwight. I’m proud to walk these streets that you sang about. Rock on.

If you hate Bakersfield, try living somewhere else, then compare.

Me? I love this town.

That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

Portion of article also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 25, 4-3-08

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Comment From: matt

I know the feeling Aaron. Thanks for this great article! Comment From: Mystrish

Amazing story! I used to be a boo on Bakersfield, but born and raised here I never realized how great it was compaired to other cities. It's beautiful and fun! Comment From: iamanickwit

Good read! :)