Bako's Bad Ass!

A couple of weeks ago Bako was all a buzz over the Ralph’s moving out of town. All three Ralph’s grocery store are closing and will soon be replaced by Save Mart. Apparently some people feel very passionately about Ralph’s. News crews camped outside interviewing shoppers and concerned citizens wrote letters to the Californian.

One letter in particular stood out. It was a letter sent in by Barbara Schmid, a former LA resident who moved here three years ago. According to Barbara, the reason Ralph’s is leaving is because of “the redneck mentality that permeates throughout the Bakersfield community.” She goes on to talk about how the locals here are not nice and how the people in Los Angeles welcome new comers with open arms. She points out that the “the only thing Bakersfield has going for it is the cheaper real estate” and that it is in danger of becoming a “little island” because it is “stuck in its own little groove.” She also carefully mentions that she liked shopping at Ralph’s because they carry all the “gourmet and ethnic foods” she likes. Evidently Barbara is more concerned with having good food than she is with having good friends. If she thought Bakersfield was unfriendly before she’s really got a surprise in store (no pun intended.)

The local section today carried eight letters in response. All eight of them thought the woman was way off base. Three of them are recent transplants to the area. All of them defended the community’s acceptance of newcomers and challenged her depiction of a warmer, friendlier LA. Several people suggested the woman would be happier if she returned to the over priced, gridlocked, narcissistic city she so loves.

The thing is, only people from Bako are allowed to say anything bad about Bako. If you didn’t grow up running barefoot in 110° weather across melting asphalt to dash into a 7-11 for a slurpee; if you’ve never been to the Alley Cat and gone home spinning and vomiting; if you never drove in caravan out to the middle of a field on the edge of town, in the middle of the night to “party”; if you’ve never anxiously looked out the window hoping for fog and praying for 2 more hours sleep – YOU DO NOT GET TO BAD MOUTH BAKERSFIELD!

AND...If you had the same best friend for the past 27 years plus numerous other fabulous friends you knew you could count on no matter what – you wouldn’t want to.