The Fresnan – Page 11

Don’t You People Have Homes To Go To?

September 12, 2020September 12, 2020 The Fresnan

I just came back from Fig Garden Village and there are a ton of freaking Fresnans out there!

Wassaaaabi’s? Packed. The patio was full and there were, like, eight people waiting for a table. THIS IS AT 2:45 on a Saturday!

Whole Foods? Packed. Long line to get in and very busy in the store. Like, so busy they might as well have not had a line to get in. It was near impossible to distance from people in there and I don’t think the line outside would have made it much worse. Fuck it, let all in.

I had not been inside Whole Foods since March and I was surprised to find it just as busy (if not more so) than Save Mart. At least Save Mart has more space to keep away from yahoos.

Jack’s Urban Eats? Busy too. wasn’t completely packed but busy and junk. Again, this is 2:45 in the afternoon.

To top it all off, it is smokey as hell. It wasn’t so bad in the morning, but the winds shifted or something and things got nasty.

BUT YOU ALL JUST PACKED OUT THE PARKING LOT PATIO AT OUT OF THE BARREL LIKE NOT A DAMN THING IS GOING ON!

Dude. All the tables at Out Of The Barrel were full. Mostly full of people that are not in a “bubble” together. You could not have fit more people out there. Since everyone is drinking, no masks.

I suppose that’s cool when it’s a handful of people, but this was too much for me brain to bare.

I was going to pick up some beer there but decided to skip it after seeing that.

Maybe a little part of me has respect for people saying, “Fuck it. I don’t care if it’s a Pandemic. I don’t care that the air is shit. I’m going to live my life and if I die, I die!”

But the rest of me? People. Is eating and drinking in a parking lot or smokey patio really all that?

We are never going to get out of this, are we?

Just go home, Fresno.

Rest In Peace, Tom Seaver

September 3, 2020September 3, 2020 The Fresnan

My first real sports hero was, Tom Seaver.

Even though I was (and still am) an Oakland A’s fan, how could Tom NOT be a hero to a Fresno kid?!

One of the greatest pitchers in baseball and he’s from the same place I am? All around considered to be a nice dude? Definitely Fresno Hero worthy.

When we had a few bucks in our pockets, my friends and I would ride our bikes to Fig Tree Liquor to buy some baseball cards. He had the best baseball cards outside of a card shop.

It just so happens the “he” was Tom Seaver’s Father-in-law.

He knew us as regulars and baseball fans, what with all the cards we bought. I’m not sure if it was my dad that told me or it was Tom Seaver’s Father-in-law himself that did, but we knew who he was.

We would occasionally ask him how Tom was and if he had come back to Fresno recently. Usually the answer was “No not lately. He stays pretty much at home up in Northern California.” But we would still ask.

Tom’s Father-in-law (I guess that’s his name now) would keep some pictures that he had Tom sign, underneath his counter. This is one he gave me:

Tom-Seaver-Fresno-autograph-fig-tree Rest In Peace, Tom Seaver

It was a big deal for me at the time. I have it displayed on a shelf to this day.

Here is a piece of Tom’s Baseball Hall Of Fame speech. The only time I am aware of that Fresno is mentioned in a HOF speech:

Tom Seaver 1992 Hall of Fame induction speech. #LGM #MetsRewind #TomSeaver #TomTerrific #41 pic.twitter.com/69ws3aV3qX
— MetsRewind (@metsrewind) September 3, 2020

Rest In Peace, Tom Terrific. Thanks for your contribution to Fresno.

Fig Garden Post Office Is There… For NOW

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 The Fresnan

You wouldn’t want this little tike to go away, would ya? Support the USPS, dookie head.

It’s surprising this little branch is still allowed to stay anyway, what with the out-of-towner ownership of Fig Garden Village.

I wonder if Fig Garden ownership can’t kick them out. Or maybe they charge the government as much as they would anybody else in that spot and the government pays its lease on time and stuff.

I imagine if we let post offices implode, this would be one of the first to shut down. I hate seeing little gems go.

Come on. It’s adorable.

inside-fig-garden-village-post-office Fig Garden Post Office Is There... For NOW — (Photo taken from here)

Maybe buy some merch. Tell the dumbass Post Master to take a hike. Support this public utility. Let’s not let all things die.

Fresno Fashion Isn’t Fair: Famous People – Joshua Tehee

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 The Fresnan

One of the byproducts of the pandemic and sheltering-in-place is getting nostalgic for things. When you are an odd person like me, apparently the nostalgia rabbit hole goes down to old Fresno websites.

I randomly ran into my friend and podcast co-host, Joshua Tehee, while picking up beer at Zack’s Brewing in Downtown Fresno. I had to take a picture as I have not seen the dude in-person in a while and certainly not with his mask on.

It reminded me of a segment on the old Fresno Famous website called “Famous People”. A Fresnan is asked a series of fashion-related questions. Those questions would be turned into a blog post.

So I reenacted this segment on my Instagram page and Josh was nice enough to play along. These are exactly how the questions used to go:

joshua-tehee Fresno Fashion Isn't Fair: Famous People - Joshua Tehee

Name: Famous Whitewater.
Spotted: Zack's Brewing.
Occupation: Writer at the Fresno Bee. Instructor at Aikido of Fresno. Local musician, It'll Grow Back, Strikingly Originals and more. Podcast host.
The Ensemble: Mask from Take Care Supply. Shirt from $crap$ Shoppe. Pants from Chrome Industries. Helmet from Explore Thousand. Watch by Timex and Engineered Garments.
Fashion Philosophy: Don't buy cheap clothes. Buy one thing that will last forever.
Place To Shop: (See shops above).
How Much Would You Pay For Shoes?: I haven't tested my upper limit but it would be a lot, I'm sure.

Thanks for playing along, Josh. And if I can revive any other old Fresno Famous things, I’ll let you guys know.

Hansen’s: One Less Old Fresno Market

July 27, 2020November 28, 2023 The Fresnan

Little isles of the past.

The West Side of Fresno is littered with old little markets that have been there forever. I try to pop into them whenever I can. Just get a soda or something. Make an effort to notice any old, unique traits the market still carries with it.

(I have not done any of that recently, what with the, you know, going around.)

Today I noticed there is one less. Hansen’s Market at Mckinley & Bryan. There used to be a cool overhang there. It appears there was a fire or something. Let me check on that. Hold please.

….. *sounds of Internet searching* ….

Holy crap! I guess I haven’t been there in over a year. They DID have a fire there last April. A fire started by a break-in.

Two dudes used a stolen truck to smash through the front door. The truck got stuck and started a fire. They got away.

That sucks, man. One less portal to Fresno’s past.

image-101016437-13990743 Hansen's: One Less Old Fresno Market

A Guide To Finding the NEOWISE Comet In The Fresno Sky From A Dumb Dumb

July 17, 2020July 26, 2020 The Fresnan

I know little to nothing about stars and stuff. But I do enjoy them. And pretending I know. And I really like starting at Space.

Thursday night my dumbass managed to find the NEOWISE Comet in the Fresno sky. If you’re like me and too lazy to drive out to the country to get a clean look, you can still give it a try in town.

Here is how:

Wait until dusk is giving way to night (9:15 ish?).
Look at the Northwest Sky. Like, as if you could see the Taco Bell at Herndon & Marks in the sky. If you live West of Herndon & Marks, look at Taco Bell in the sky then turn around.
Find the Big Dipper (it’s literally the only thing outside of the Moon I can ever identify quickly).
Point at the “bottom star” of the dipper.
Follow your pointer finger down to the tree line.
Hopefully, around there, you’ll see a star with a smoggy, dust-like tail.

It definitely helps to at least have some binoculars and an open view of the NW sky.

It’s not out very long. It lasted maybe an hour on Thursday and Friday.

For tips on photographing it and stuff, Space has some.

*If you’re reading this after July 23rd, NEOWISE is pretty much gone. Sorry, brah.