18 posts tagged “long beach”

A migrant, working in the beet farms in nearby Los Alamitos. He was shot 3 times, in front of several witnesses, during a poker game for cheating - maybe with the other player's wife, Maria. He moaned for 11 hrs after being shot. Despite the farm house being only 100' away, no one told anyone about the shooting till he was long dead (about 24 hrs). The shooter claimed it was "an accident!" (3 shots). The police were not able to get any witnesses to come forward. The shooter was convicted anyway but his friends broke him out of jail and he was never heard from again.

Bessie Baxter - died the day before wedding. She went to LA on a shopping trip. Coming home, she stepped off the southbound Red Car Trolley but didn't hear the Northbound train that ran her over. Her planned wedding, at 2p the next day, became her funeral. Her 6 bridesmaids were her pallbearers.

When her best friend retired from wing walking, Ethel (who had a crush on her friend's brother - who was also the plane pilot), took over her job. She married the pilot and they toured the country putting on wing walking & stunt flying shows. They also became testers/demonstrators for parachutes. Her hubby invented a new parachute design and they demo'd it at a flying show in San Fran. Except the parachute never opened and she fell to earth & died on impact.

Dr. Rhea lost his hearing early in life due to an illness. He went on to become a doctor, running a legit pharmacy (as opposed to "Snake Oil" in the central valley. He then moved to Calico (now a ghost town, in the desert) and made a fortune ($50,000) in mining (silver & borax). He moved to Long Beach and sold housing on a popular plan, $10 down & $10 a month, 0% interest... which made him one of Long Beach's most popular residents.

He was riding his bike home one day when, being deaf, he was unable to hear the Red Car Trolley warning that it was approaching. The trolley clipped the rear tire of his bike, throwing him under the RedCar, where he was dragged for 1/2 mile before the car could stop. His wife happened to come upon the scene right after the accident happened.

His is one of the most famous headstones in the world, thanks to an early photograph by Ansel Adams. No one knows who commissioned, paid for, created, nor placed the "Angel of Sorrow" on top of his original headstone.

Part 1 - the food & booze

Part 2 - the staff (this was a special event - not the regular staff):

Funny how a bunch of good looking men can improve your mood. The crowd really surprised me because not only did I run into people I haven't seen in 10+ years but all of my divergent social groups knew each other. We all spent a lot of time saying, "Wait, you know each other?? How do you guys know each other?"

When I couldn't figure out what to wear, I went with a bright pink bra, soft pink nightie (as a shirt), pink eyeshadow, and big bright pink eyelashes - which did not flatter me but got a lot of attention.

Must be start of my social season. Current plans...

May

• Sat 3 - Miss Kitty's monthly party
• Sun 4 - Pick up Julie at airport
• Sat 10 - Master's Degree graduation party for Riley (of the FGNs)
• Sun 11 - 2 hr private pole class
  
• Fri 16 - LB Pride Pre-Party I realized "party on the rooftop" just means the 2nd floor open balcony, which is lame
  
• Sun 18 - LB Pride Disco Night / Concert: Sheena Easton and KC & the Sunshine Band
• Fri 30 - Concert: Flight of the Conchords @ the Orpheum

June

• Tue 24 (or so) - Lucha VaVoom (pending - haven't purchase tix yet)
• Note to SF-ers: Lucha VaVoom will take place at The Fillmore on June 29 (maybe I'll go to that one!)
  

July

• Fri 11 - Concert: YAZ (aka: Yazoo, aka: Vince Clarke & Alison Moyet) reunion @ the Orpheum
• Sun 13 - Pole Star Competition @ the Music Box (spectator only)
• Tue 22 - Concert: Stray Cats @ Pacific Amph (only US appearance in 2008)

Long Beach Gay Pride
May 17 & 18 - Rainbow Harbor (aka: Shoreline Drive)

Festival admission usually runs around $25/day. You can drink anywhere within the festival grounds (aka: No "beer gardens" (San Diego)!!). Weather is usually cool and the event takes place next to the water on a grassy hillside (very little hot asphalt (Los Angeles & SF).

Headline entertainers (dates & times not yet listed):

• Deborah Cox (I could swear she had a big club hit or two but I'm seeing no indication of that on her website)
• Ivy Queen (I have had no idea who that is - apparently a latina singer)
• Kat De Luna (I have hadno idea who that is either but she's apparently the biggest deal - which means she'll be the closing act on Sun Sat night - apparently an even bigger latina singer - who records in both english & spanish)

• The Bangles (nothing on their website about appearing)
  
• Sheena Easton (her website says she's performing on the 18th)
  
• KC & the Sunshine Band (website says they're performing on the 18th)

Based on the MySpace pages - it looks like there will be an 80s headliners night and a latin headliners night this year. I am fairy certain I'll show up for the 80's night

Past LBGP free concerts have included: Little Richard, RuPaul, the Village People, Jennifer Holliday, Pat Benetar (twice - I missed both of them), Jennifer Hudson, Christine W

The "island" is actually an oil drilling site. It lights up and has waterfalls at night. There were about 15 private boats anchored around it (oddly popular spot to stop during the day). Container ships, lined up and heading to the port of LA, on the horizon. Too much ocean fog to see Catalina.