Column

Let’s take a trip back up north. For you loyal followers, you may recall a mere two months ago I shared my experience with a toddlers upset tummy on a well traveled road home from our bi-yearly visit to McKinleyville to see the Padulas. I cringe a little at my irresponsibility for tainting such a wonderful pilgrimage in, well, toddler vomit, without giving it the accolades to a trip that constantly provides them. So today we will go back up north to expose just one of the regular stops we make while in Humboldt County.

It is true that the farther north you go and shortly after you cross the Humboldt County Line, you see a lot more flannel on bike riders, more people walking on the highway miles from any discernible destination, as well as a general population boom of “real beards” (nobody is trying to be a hipster here). It stands to reason that the art scene flourishes in a place like this, much like a fern in the shade of 500-year-old redwood tree. The key to a thriving business here is to capture the art vibe and create commerce around it. Los Bagels on I Street in Arcata has done just this.

Let it be known that there are actually three locations, all within a few miles from each other, here in Humboldt County (I am actually here as I write this), but I can only attest to the original location that sprouted their “Multicultural Bagel Bakery and Café” long ago, in 1984.

Opened by Dennis Rael, Peter Jermyn and Paul Hebb (partnered with John Monahan in 1994), Los Bagels prides itself on traditional Jewish food with the customs and traditions of Mexico. The décor, and brand, has a Dia De Los Muertos look and feel with the colors and skulls spilled all over the café area.

They either had massive volume in mind or built the two distinct doors in the front to bring needed order to the lines, but either way, one door to enter by and another to exit by provides a sense of direction that the hundreds of people in line can easily follow. And this is no artisanal exaggeration, as there are literally hundreds of people filing through the bagel conveyor belt daily. I have been there on a Thursday and the lines resembled Pirates of the Caribbean in July.

Do they come for the special boiled-then-baked bagels that have never changed recipes; the homemade toppings, like Chorizo or Guacamole; the fresh (probably from down the block) lox, or perhaps the awesome temporary tattoos? The answer is: All of the above. Everything is fresh and made in house (maybe not the tattoos).

As a Social Media Marketer by day, I simply drool over the presence they have created in the social arena (they are easy to find on multiple channels) as well as the presence in the community. They sell local art on their walls and website, have books written about them by close company relatives. They support only local growers and dedicate a part of their web traffic to them—they even have a Solar Energy Project. To say that they are socially conscious and philanthropic are understatements.

Los Bagels is simply a breath of fresh air in the greedy industry that food service has become. They are steeped in community first and a “long live the artist” mentality, and their food is INCREDIBLE! Simplicity rules supreme, even if one of the most confusing business models ever built involves Jewish heritage with a Mexican flare…somehow they made it work, perhaps because they invented it.

If you are rolling through Arcada, you must stop here and see what I mean, because if you really do want to have what I am having, your eating at Los Bagels.

1061 I Street, Arcata Ca. 95521
Losbagels.com

As a fan of movies for much of a very long life. I develop admiration for certain performers who transcend. Such are the long careers of Robert DeNiro and my favorite all time favorite actress, Meryl Streep. Let’s take a look at their notable work.

1. It was the Oscar winning movie of 1978 and was the first pairing of Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep. What was the movie?

2. Streep won her first Oscar in 1979 for a supporting performance in what movie?

3. DeNiro won his first Oscar in 1974 playing the younger version of a character that won an Oscar for Marlon Brando two years earlier. Who was that character?

4. DeNiro won another Oscar in 1980 for playing what famous boxer?

5. Streep then won an Oscar in 1982 for playing a severely disturbed Czech refugee in what movie?

6. Finally, Streep won her 3rd Oscar in 2010 for playing what famous World leader?

Think for a moment about your typical day. Now consider your behavior in that day—every action and decision you make. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being perfection and one being absolute failure, how would you rate yourself in terms of performance? I’d have to admit that even on my best days I would have to rate myself a “five” at best.

What about laws? Do you ever use a cell phone while driving? I’d have to plead guilty here, how about you? Cell phone use causes six times more traffic accidents than drunk driving, with upwards of 6,000 fatalities annually, but we do it anyway. I won’t even ask if you always obey the speed limit, because we all know the answer to that one. Even though we know what we are supposed to do and how we ought to behave, rarely do we come near the bull’s eye of perfect performance.

Okay, so no one is perfect—not at work, at school or at home. So, what’s my point? It’s this: Why all the criticism today of law enforcement? Yes, there have been cases where police officers have betrayed their oath to uphold the law—some have even gone so far as to willfully commit crimes—but I would argue that such cases are very rare. While police officers are entrusted with significant power, by and large, 99% of them temper the exercise of that power because they understand the risk and broader implications of it better than anyone.

Take the recent riots in Portland and Seattle for example. Those police officers followed orders when I imagine the temptation to use force to halt the mayhem must have been palpable. Even as rocks and bottles and obscenities were hurled, all while being taunted and spat upon by a riotous crowd of anarchist thugs, the officers remained disciplined and did their duty. They didn’t use lethal force even as their own lives were being threatened.

Again, I am not excusing cases where some abuse their position, but keep in mind that the majority of those behind the badge do an outstanding job— especially considering what they have to contend with on a day to day basis. And no one wants the “bad apples” out more than honorable police officers. Statistically, I’d bet that the job performance of the vast majority is well above that of many other professions.

Let’s remember that police officers are not robots. They are fallible human beings with the same emotions, weaknesses and faults as everyone else, that also just happen to be courageous enough to put their lives on the line every day for people they don’t even know—people like you and me. But because of their visibility in the most difficult of situations, police officers are targets for bogus claims of “brutality” and convenient scapegoats for manipulative politicians.

The next time we hear about some police officer making a tragic mistake, let’s not be so quick to jump on the blame bandwagon. Most of the time, and in most cases, the police deserve our respect, cooperation and admiration.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5