Category: Fresno

Rest In Peace, Tom Seaver

The Fresnan
Tom-Seaver Rest In Peace, Tom Seaver
A young Tom Seaver as a Met – picture available here

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:

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

Fig Garden Post Office Is There… For NOW

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

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.

P.S. Did you see that Weztzel’s Pretzels is open in Fig Garden Village? Okay just checking.

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

The Fresnan
Fresno-Famous-Discover-local-life Fresno Fashion Isn't Fair: Famous People - Joshua Tehee

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

The Fresnan
Hansens-Grocery Hansen's: One Less Old Fresno Market

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.

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

The Fresnan
how-to-see-comet-NEOWISE A Guide To Finding the NEOWISE Comet In The Fresno Sky From A Dumb Dumb
From Space.com and NASA – How To Find NEOWISE

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.

This Old Fresno Der Wienerschnitzel Needs To Be The New Normal

The Fresnan
Blackstone-and-Gettysberg This Old Fresno Der Wienerschnitzel Needs To Be The New Normal
Yep. I shopped a Google Street View pic of Blackstone & Gettysburg Wienerschnitzel because I’m too lazy to go take the picture myself.

The walk-up window style like the old (still going) Der Wienerschnitzel on Blackstone & Gettysburg, needs to be a forever trend in Fresno.

Nobody truly knows when this COVID-19 will end. We need to assume … another year? Two? One month. Fuck, I don’t know. Eating outside is less dangerous, this we know.

Virus or no, Fresno needs more permanent outdoor eating options. Sorry, Fansler, spend the money on a real patio at your restaurants next time. (Ohhhhhhh owwwww, burrrn!)

We should have had walkup windows and patios everywhere the whole damn time, dude.

I don’t know if you have walked around outside much lately, but the sun is out there. Like, a lot. Not much rain to contend with (Suck on that, hard, Portland!). Fresnans are very familiar with sunshine. We are made for outdoor eating.

Do we need lots of canopies and umbrellas and coverings of all kinds? Crap yeah we do.

Block that sun. It needs to be blocked, it’s kind of a jerk sometimes. Put up a mister. Some plants. Whatever.

Fresno, needs more outdoor everything. More walk-up windows would be a start.

Side note: Here is an old picture (I think I found on a Fresno Facebook group) of the above location. I assume it’s the original Der Wienerschnitzel in Fresno. Not much has changed:

Original-Der-Wiernerschnitzel-Fresno This Old Fresno Der Wienerschnitzel Needs To Be The New Normal