There has never been a better time to open a surf school in San Pedro.
With the pandemic, children are home, away from their friends and school, often staring at a screen all day. Families are traveling less, and local beaches are becoming more important than ever in the community as a respite in nature. Shaun Meadows wants to help create an interest in surfing (which he calls “surf stoke”) with San Pedro’s next generation and plant the surfing seed at a young age.He opened San Pedro Surf School to encourage people to enjoy what San Pedro beaches have to offer.
Meadows, named after a surfer, grew up surfing at Cabrillo Beach and other local beaches. As a child, he would ride his bike to Cabrillo Beach and spend the day there as a junior lifeguard and a member of the San Pedro High School surf team. It was like his playground, and he describes Cabrillo Beach as a hidden gem of California.
Meadows spent 16 years working for Catalina Express in various positions and holds a captain’s license. His love for the ocean is something he shared with his mother, Maureen Meadows, who passed away suddenly this summer and was his main influence in starting a local surf school. Meadows wants to help bring surfing to the younger generation of San Pedro at Cabrillo Beach which has smaller waves that are ideal for beginner surfers.
“My mom was beautiful, inside and out; she was like a bright positive light,” states Meadows. “I wanted to do something that would be a positive light in the community, so I created San Pedro Surf School. I wanted to show my love of surfing and the love of my mom and tie it together.”
Many families who normally drive to Torrance Beach to take surfing lessons are now staying local at Cabrillo Beach since the opening of San Pedro Surf School. Often people end up spending the rest of the afternoon after surfing lessons creating a community that is bringing people together on the sand. Grandparents who used to surf locally are bringing their grandchildren to take lessons and bond over surfing.
“I used to surf at Palms, and Rocco, my grandson, is now learning, thanks to San Pedro Surf School,” says Rocco’s grandmother, Michelle. “Cabrillo Beach used to be crowded and the place to be when I was young, and now the younger families are coming back to bring their kids to learn to surf.”
“Local instructors are friends and family members so when we get to know these kids, it is a circle-of-life type of feeling that we are bringing to the water,” states Meadows. “The scenic views of the water at Cabrillo are beautiful.”
“My daughter absolutely loved the one-on-one attention during her hour-long surf lesson,” says Monica Sabic Weston. “We have beautiful surf right here in San Pedro, so when they started offering lessons, we could not jump fast enough to enroll our daughter.”
Meadows is offering affordable surf lessons, both private and group. His clients vary from ages 4 to 52 and include a father and daughter and couples on a date. Group lessons can be arranged to include friends and family.
Meadows has seen numerous signs of his mom at Cabrillo Beach, from sand dollars in the waves to the many dolphins that were his mom’s favorite. Meadows is respectful of the beach, and his surf instructors arrive on the beach early, clearing any trash. He has planned a community beach cleanup for November 1. On the weekends, he brings his mother’s photo to the beach with him as he continues to create his own legacy at the very beach where they shared so many special memories. spt
It’s hard not to get wistful when thinking about pre-coronavirus times. For the last few years, October was the time when we got to focus on the spooky and haunted in San Pedro. Whether it was on foot or our very first haunted trolley tour last year, talking about the paranormal in San Pedro has always been a popular topic. Due to the scary times we are living through at the moment, I feel more drawn to focusing on the human and humane aspect of death and the proud stewards who care for us between this world and the next — morticians.
My best friend is married to a mortician. Prior to meeting him, I probably thought a mortician was a creepy man with gray skin and sunken eyes. A bit like Lurch from The Addams Family. Robert is nothing like that; he’s probably one of the warmest, funniest and most thoughtful men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He’s the kind of guy you want ushering you through one of the hardest times in your life. He has a profound respect for the dead and the service he provides to their families. I’ve thought about Robert often throughout the pandemic, wondering how his job has changed because nothing is normal in these times, not even death.
When the pandemic hit and I was just experiencing it like everyone else, a Facebook post snapped me out of my existential dread. Suddenly I realized that I had to start viewing the pandemic for the historical event that it is. This meant documenting how our lives are affected by it. Within the first month, it was plain to see that the pandemic touched every aspect of our lives, including the dead and funerals. In the six months that this pandemic has raged on, I am sure that we have all either experienced or heard secondhand stories about how funerals were happening. This had to be challenging for the mortuaries to keep up with new regulations and processes that took many forms: families watching interment from their cars, a handful of socially distanced mourners at the gravesite, or even funerals via Zoom. Some of you may have even seen the green ribbons tied to the fence at Green Hills Memorial Park, one for each of the people who died but couldn’t be celebrated with a funeral in the customary fashion.
It’s in times like these that we have to reflect on the ways that we are lucky. We are lucky that we still have a longtime family-owned mortuary like McNerney’s leading us through these challenging times. This isn’t to knock the corporate mortuaries, but it helps having someone who understands the community because they are part of the community.
The McNerney family has been serving San Pedro since 1926, when Thomas J. McNerney became partner in the Palm & McLin mortuary. Robert McNerney bought out the remaining partner, John McLin, in 1939, and the McNerneys decided to build a new mortuary under their family name on Fifth Street. When McNerney’s Mortuary officially opened to the public 80 years ago on September 29, 1940, it completed the trifecta and sandwiched itself between San Pedro’s two other longtime mortuaries, Halverson-Leavell on Sixth Street and Cleveland Mortuary on Fourth Street. Eighty years later, McNerney’s is the only firm still serving San Pedro.
Losing a loved one is always difficult, but it is especially difficult in times like these. Being in the capable hands of morticians like Robert and community firms like McNerney’s gives families peace of mind. Theirs is a profession where dignity and respect are the baseline, and I just wanted to thank them for being those stewards for this community.
Prior to the quarantine, my plans were to celebrate McNerney’s 80th anniversary with a presentation in the chapel. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible. Instead, I will be honoring McNerney’s Mortuary, and all other San Pedro mortuaries, with a special Zoom presentation on Wednesday, October 21 at 7pm. If you are interested in attending, you can register by emailing angela@sanpedroheritage.org. spt
A while back, I saw a post that I thought was fake because of how unbelievable it was.It was a picture of actor Kumail Nanjiani, the nerdy actor/comedian from Silicon Valley. The Kumail I’m familiar with is a skinny-but-pudgy guy who doesn’t look like he’d ever lifted a weight in his life. But the guy in this picture said otherwise. A man who once looked like he only read comics now looked like the hero in the comic.
The photo was posted to his Instagram and after initially writing it off to Photoshop, he explained he had been training for a role as a superhero. What followed was a slew of comments and questions begging for him to share his secret diet and workouts that allowed him to have such a staggering transformation.
Kumail Nanjiani (photo: Instagram.com/kumailn)
It got me thinking about how these film transformations fuel the fervor of “celebrity diets” that have most of the public thinking Hollywood elites possess some sort of secret for youth and fitness (outside of a scalpel).
Anyone casually interested in fitness will usually find themselves googling “favorite celebrity + diet plan” hoping for some insight. So how do these celebrities achieve such staggering transformations in such a short amount of time? Do they possess some insider info only the stars have access to? Well the short answer is no. There is a recipe they follow, and given enough time and commitment, most people can replicate their results (although I’m not sure you’d want to).
Either way, I’m going to shed some light on how they do it, and my hope is that in the process, you’ll understand they possess no magic pill. I’m going to assume it’s a given that these celebrities possess formidable resources to hire personal trainers, nutrition coaches, surgeons and even a bit of pharmaceutical assistance. But honestly, tummy tucks, anabolic cocktails, and skillful camera angles aside, there are some things you can’t fake. So here goes.
Step 1 — They achieve radical focus with a high-stakes deadline.When a celebrity is getting ready for a role, he or she is quite literally getting paid to achieve a certain look and hell or high water, they better be film ready. This means for 3-12 months at a time, they live like monks on extremely strict workout and nutrition regimens typically divided into two phases: a “bulk” and a “cut.”
Step 2 — They begin with a strength training and/or muscle-building cycle. Depending on the role, physical rigors it calls for, and the athletic background of the actor, almost every actor has to pack on a fair amount of lean muscle. This means 12-24 weeks of heavy muscle-building/strength training coupled with a diet geared towards gaining weight. This means a coach is watching every calorie to make sure they eat enough to sustain the two-plus hours in the gym doing compound movements like presses, deadlifts and squats, along with bodybuilding splits.
Step 3 — They transition to a cutting cycle to lose body fat that reveals the muscle they built. Once they have completed the first phase of their training and diet, having gained the necessary weight, a huge emphasis is shifted to their diet. No longer do they need to eat a surplus of calories but rather, a deficit. Typically, this means they go high-protein, low-carb probably consuming 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and .5 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight (under 100g a day usually) for 8-12 weeks. This allows them to rapidly drop weight leading up to filming.
As soon as they complete their cut, the transformation is complete. Three to six months of bulking to put on 10-20 pounds of mass followed by two to three months of leaning out. They peak physically during filming the same way a bodybuilder would peak for a competition. Although far more drastic, this is the same time-honored formula any average Joe can use to build muscle and/or lose weight — a clear goal, timeline, and focus for a sustained period with coaching to keep you on track.
Hollywood may have lots of tools at their disposal, but when it comes to body transformation, they have to use the same methods as anyone else. Remember that next time one of them tries to sell you a weight loss tea. spt
In the midst of global uncertainty, Ten Thousand Villages is working to make a difference.
The nonprofit retailer offers handcrafted, ethically sourced goods made by artisans all over the world, and now they’ve expanded into San Pedro. Originally hailing from Redondo Beach, Ten Thousand Villages has set up shop at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles, making its offerings of sustainable, fair trade products available to San Pedro shoppers. Customers can explore merchandise ranging from charming kitchen decor and quaint jewelry to adorable children’s toys and more, all while supporting a movement that puts “people and planet first.”
The store is volunteer-run, and most of the volunteers are previous customers who enjoy the product. The store is constantly recruiting. Store manager Michelle Dever-Ryan believes customers are drawn to the store’s core values and mission. “The whole purpose behind the store is that we are selling products made by people who wouldn’t have an opportunity to get their things to market in the U.S. if it wasn’t for Ten Thousand Villages,” Dever-Ryan says. “Also, because we’re fair trade, they know [the merchants] are paid a fair, sustainable living wage and have great working conditions.”
The store’s founder Tom Hoffarth became interested in fair trade products in 2012. Shortly after, Hoffarth and his wife launched the physical store in Redondo Beach. Originally, the two experimented with the store for the parishioners at American Martyrs in Manhattan Beach, but after seeing the love for the products, they decided to expand.
“The crafted items felt like they were from a museum store,” says Hoffarth. “They were just so creative and resourceful and used all earth-friendly products, and I mean, they were pieces of art in a lot of ways.”
The Hoffarths and a few of their friends began to search for donors and eventually found a landlord that understood the mission of the store. Ten Thousand Villages settled in Riviera Village in Redondo Beach and opened its doors in the summer of 2014.
“The key part of this fair trade is that the person who made this gets a fair and living wage,” says Hoffarth. “In the negotiation for how this product is made, we talk to them about what you need as far as supplies and materials and labor.”
The difference that lies within fair trade as opposed to conventional transactions is the conversation between the maker of the product and the company buying it. All over the world, whether it be Burkina Faso or Peru, Ten Thousand Villages is helping artists earn a sustainable living wage.
“A company often goes into these countries and says, ‘We will pay you X amount of dollars to make this, take it or leave it,’” explains Hoffarth. “Often the person making it says, ‘Well I need the business, so we need to do this.’”
After a long career in retail, Dever-Ryan enjoys continuing to learn about fair trade. She’s been working for Ten Thousand Villages for a year now and has fallen in love with her position. “I’ve been in retail [for] 20 years, so a lot of this is entirely different for me, but it is impacting lives,” shares Dever-Ryan. “[In] most of our artisan groups, the workers are women, so [for] some of them, it’s keeping them out of sex trafficking. [For] others, it’s just giving them the opportunity to support their families, because they might not have a man in their life to do so, and they’re coming from cultures [where] that’s what the expectation is.”
Dever-Ryan’s favorite products are those made from repurposed saris. The products include patterned bags, colorful baby blankets, and unique cushions.
Both Hoffarth and Dever-Ryan are passionate about helping those in need get the sustainable wages they deserve in order to create products that can be sold in the United States. “What can we do to help people around the world stay in their countries, keep their children safe, get their children educated, and stay out of human trafficking?” asks Hoffarth. “Ten Thousand Villages feels like the perfect model we can all get our arms around and explain and support.”
Those looking to get a head start on holiday shopping can find Ten Thousand Villages at Crafted on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m.–6 p.m. with COVID-19 safety protocols in effect. spt
On August 13, 2020, my father and best friend passed away and left us with a big hole in our hearts. When I think about my father, I recall many of his accomplishments, growing up working at the family business, Tony’s TV, his love for the game of soccer, our first trip to Italy, and Sundays watching soccer. We would cap off Sundays with pasta and what he called “soupy-soupy,” cookies dunked in espresso.
He was born on the beautiful island of Ischia, Italy in 1937 and on April 5, 1956, he arrived in San Pedro with his parents Ciro and Maria and sister Angie. The rest of his siblings would arrive in America years later. He would meet my mom, Filomena “Cookie” Costa, at a family picnic on July 4th at Peck Park. It was love at first sight. Mom knew at that moment she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. They were married in 1961, had four children — Jerry, Domenic, me, and Amy — and eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Growing up in Ischia, he was fascinated with radio, which eventually led him to earn an electronics technical degree from the National Technical School in Los Angeles. He would then open his trademark business, Tony’s TV, in 1965, serving San Pedro for 43 years. Due to his passion for soccer, the business would evolve in the 80s into Tony’s TV and Soccer Supplies, which made National Lampoon magazine’s list of interesting business combinations.
Over the years, his passion led to filling the gaps Italian immigrants were feeling after coming to America. He became involved in radio broadcasting in 1957 by providing soccer scores from Italy to Gianni Lauro’s Sunday Italian radio program using a shortwave radio. Eventually he started his own radio program and was on the air for 47 years.
Pirozzi wrote about his trip to Ischia with his father in the Sept. 2005 issue of San Pedro Magazine. (photo: San Pedro Today)
In 1960, he started the Olympia Soccer Club and the Italian Sports Association, which would evolve into the Italian American Club, to fundraise for the team. In 1973, he formed the San Pedro Italian Soccer Club, which captured the First Division Championship in 1979. Finally, he promoted Italian music to audiences at the Warner Grand, the Hollywood Palladium, and many other theaters across Los Angeles.
His most memorable moment was during the 1982 World Cup celebration after he announced on his radio program that “when” Italy wins the Final against West Germany, fans should meet at his shop on 12th and Gaffey to celebrate. When Italy won, 2,000 people came from all over Los Angeles, the Valley, and San Pedro and filled the street waving Italian flags. This was a first-of-a-kind celebration in San Pedro that many still remember.
He received the 2014 Italian Spirit Award: Excellence in Community during Italian American Heritage Month from Councilman Buscaino to recognize his accomplishments.
Soccer was Dad’s main passion. Together, we rooted for Napoli and the national team of Italy. During the 2006 World Cup, Italy played the USA in the group stage. I was rooting for the USA and told him that we shouldn’t watch the game together as he might get upset with me rooting against Italy. He laughed and agreed. During the first half, I see my parents walking up my driveway. I said, “What happened?” With a big smile he said, “The power went out at the house.” I laughed and said, “God didn’t want us apart for the game.” Thank goodness the game ended in a 1-1 tie and Italy won the World Cup that year. Most recently, we watched the 2020 Coppa Italia final together as Napoli beat rival Juventus to capture the cup. The picture of us holding the Napoli jersey celebrating the win is our last picture together.
I will always cherish being the first-generation son of an Italian immigrant. Dad would say, “Don’t forget where you come from.” In a Christmas card I told him it was time for us to go to Italy for the first time together so I can see where we come from. He said yes with one condition: we plan the trip around two soccer games. So, in 2005, we planned the trip around Napoli/Rimini and Roma/Lazio. Walking the streets of Ischia together and seeing the very places he had talked about for years was a dream come true for me. I wrote about this experience in San Pedro Magazine.
I spent my youth working at his TV shop which led me to earn an electronics engineering degree. In 2018, I took him on a tour of the Boeing satellite factory that I lead in El Segundo. He was impressed by the size of our facility and the size of the satellites and was beaming with pride. I put my arm around him and said, “I am here because of you, Dad.” He looked at me perplexed. I said, “Because of the shop, I became an engineer to help you, but landed here.” He had tears in his eyes.
My father left us with memories of his passion, kindness, friendship, generosity, and especially his smile. His example taught me that we will be remembered not for the big accomplishments in life, but the little things, the times spent together, how we made a person feel, and the small thoughtful gestures amongst family and friends. Rest well, Dad, and may you enjoy the soccer games in heaven. I love you. spt
At birth, our brains come equipped with approximately 100 billion neurons (brain cells), ready to be utilized and wired into a complex network of neural connections.Only half of these nerve cells are wired together at birth, which means we do the majority of our neural wiring through life experiences.
Our brains can grow, change and learn throughout our lifespan; this, in current neuroscientific language, is known as “neuroplasticity.” Neuroplasticity allows us to be the architects of our inner worlds, but to activate this process, one must learn how to consciously engage in the creative process. What, then, helps us create optimal conditions for such a process? And how does it work? Recent developments in neural imaging have provided an opportunity for us to explore and research vast amounts of data, including the brain’s interaction with visual processing and the importance of creative flow.
The brain has two hemispheres, left and right. Left is mostly responsible for logical, verbal, and computational functions, whereas the right hemisphere is involved in emotional processing. Historically, creative people have been believed to be more right brain, whereas more analytic individuals have been seen as more left brain. This is actually not entirely true; both hemispheres play an integral role in generating creativity.
Deductive reasoning is not capable of producing novel ideas, as it is a process of reaffirming existing facts. It’s through nonverbal recall of smells, sounds, and images that we free associate, creating analogies and connections that birth the creative flow. In order to translate this emotive process into our consciousness, left brain has to analyze and deliver it to our thinking brain. This can be understood as an evolutionary function. In order to manage the ever-changing external reality, we have to actively interact with it, creating new meanings and connections relevant to our experiences.
Human beings don’t simply record their external reality through sensory experience, they actively co-create an artificial reality as a response to external stimuli. In doing so, we find purpose and project endless possibilities into the future.
Certain environments are more conducive to encouraging creativity while others can be thwarting. Being in nature allows our brain to wonder; this is a daydream state of mind, an open-ended meandering. Activation of sensory perception that comes from watching the sunset, hearing the ocean, and smelling freshly cut grass stimulates the creative flow. When our minds are thus engaged, the brain enters into a meditative focus, which then calibrates our nervous system, balances hormonal fluctuations, and allows us to enter into a state of cognitive meaning making. This can manifest as a novel thought process, as well as drawing, dancing, singing, etc. Similarly, visiting a museum, traveling, being exposed to new stories and languages, and physical activities all can activate this process. Without creative flow, our internal realities shrink and become less adaptive, hence making us ill-equipped to handle the ever-changing landscape of life.
Play is one of the most important creative activities. Logical reasoning does not beget construction of new ideas, because it has predictable rules that are deductive and therefore have only finite possible outcomes.
Play, on the other hand, is a fluid process where rules can change, allowing the activity to have an infinite number of outcomes. The reason children love to play is because they are in a natural phase of active construction of their inner worlds. Play involves multiple brain functions, which not only improve mental agility but also provide an opportunity for motor skills training. It also activates reward centers in the brain, which enhance positive emotional states and teach an individual about their strengths and weaknesses, thus improving self-esteem. It is a process of constructing schemas of inner worlds. Unfortunately, in our current culture, play and creativity are underestimated, hence we are seeing an increase in mental health problems.
Making art is a form of play; it has no particular rules, no predictable end result. Art making allows our minds to wander, free associate, and experiment through trial and error, creating new neural connections expanding our inner worlds, making them more interesting, complex, rewarding, and meaningful.
As we age, we begin to over rely on preexisting mental constructs that were formed in our youth; we utilize familiar neural pathways and in doing so, limit the production of new, consequently becoming “set in our ways” and less adaptable, and our worlds begin to shrink. We become anxious and avoid the unknown, causing cognitive decline and low self-esteem, thus activating negative emotions of shame, frustration and loneliness. In short, when we stop playing with the world, we begin to die. Being alive means remaining creatively engaged, seeking new experiences, and plunging into the unknown. It is in this vast abyss of space that life is born. spt
San Pedro United Methodist Church is a large, unassuming building on the corner of 6th Street and Grand Avenue. Built in 1923, the church once had a large rotating beacon of light in the steeple and served as a haven for visiting sailors, providing respite, showers, a hot meal, and a place to write a letter home.
The church has evolved over the years and with the leadership of Pastor Lisa Williams, it is returning to its roots to provide services for those in need. The church is not just handing out food or clothing, they are providing services that support families and individuals who are unhoused to get back on their feet.
“One of the reasons I got so involved in advocacy and housing is because I heard a speaker say the faith community has abandoned those in need,” says Williams. “Many churches are dying and need to change, need to be open and willing to look around their cities to see how they can help.”
Traditionally, a church would open its doors on Sundays for church services, and their empty buildings would be mostly unused during the week. United Methodist has seen an increase of people who are becoming homeless for the first time and wanted to offer help. They have been involved with a program called Family Promise of the South Bay for the last four years. Homeless families are provided shelter for a week at each rotating church like United Methodist. They provide food and shelter to up to four families at a time once a quarter in rooms inside the church. Ongoing social services are provided to the families through Family Promise as they work with families on their goals like getting a job or attending school.
United Methodist was gifted a large lot that is adjacent to the church over 20 years ago and once owned by a mortuary. The lot has been vacant for years but is in the process of becoming 54 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing for families and singles. There will be wraparound services provided to the people who will live there and rules that they must follow. The project is currently in the funding and application stages.
The church has been hosting mobile showers, funded by Supervisor Janice Hahn, every month. United Methodist is part of the San Pedro Faith Consortium along with First Presbyterian San Pedro, The Garden Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, and Temple Beth El. They provide bagged lunches at the mobile showers and other resources with a goal to provide new supplemental services to the unhoused members of San Pedro.
Also, United Methodist works with Toberman Neighborhood Center during the holidays. Children are given toys at Toberman, and then the families head to United Methodist so the children can shop at no cost for gifts for their parents. Items like body wash gift sets, small speakers, and small toolsets are popular. Donations of these types of products are appreciated. United Methodist works closely with the two new shelters in San Pedro and provides product donations to them as they are limited on space. Donations needed are new sweatpants, new unisex t-shirts, Crystal Light to flavor water, new socks and underwear, cleaning supplies, adult coloring books with pens/pencils, and lunches for mobile shower days at the church.
“United Methodist is doing the work that is kind and respectful and shows dignity to all people,” says Williams. “Agencies, social workers, and churches need to work together and share resources, and none can do it alone. Now more than ever with so many first time homeless, it is about trying to connect people and be an advocate for those who don’t have a voice.”
It’s been a local mystery for the better part of seven years.Who’s been responsible for painting a particular black-and-white cat in various locations all over San Pedro… and why? In a community where secrets are not exactly well kept, the identity of this street artist seems to have remained steadfast in its anonymity.
The popularity of the “San Pedro Cat,” as it’s commonly referred to these days, has only risen over the years, helped by social media and two local gallery exhibitions in 2017 and 2018. Though controversial at first, the community seems to have grown fond of the feline over time, demonstrated by the hundreds of photos on social media of people posing with the various stencils, paintings, posters, and sculptures of the cat, hashtagged with the artist’s only known public name, #ifoundyourcat.
Photo: courtesy #ifoundyourcat.
The artist has been called everything from a “community treasure” to a “vandal” to a “Banksy ripoff,” a reference to the famous England-based street artist and activist who gained mainstream notoriety through the 2010 Academy Award-nominated documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Not surprisingly, that film holds special significance in #ifoundyourcat’s origin story.
When a new piece appeared in early August in Park Plaza at the Shell gas station on Western Avenue, the first after a prolonged hiatus, it sparked renewed interest in the “San Pedro Cat,” and I was curious if this mystery artist would be willing to tell their story in the pages of San Pedro Today.
Fortunately, he was.
SETTING THE PARAMETERS
I sent a message to the artist through his Instagram page (instagram.com/ifoundyourcat) in mid-August asking if he’d agree to an interview. I wasn’t sure what to expect. After two days of silence, a reply appeared in the magazine’s inbox, “Wow! Are you serious? I’m on board if I get the cover.” Knowing this was always a cover-worthy story for the magazine, that was a no-brainer.
The only other parameter he requested was to remain anonymous, to which I agreed. The goal was never to “out” him. Instead, I wanted to tell this story in a way that was interesting and honest, but also kept the mystery behind it. The artist’s anonymity is part of the charm about the cat. In many ways, it’s allowed people to appreciate the art in its purest form, without any preconceived ideas that might exist if the identity of the artist was publicly known.
Photo: courtesy #ifoundyourcat.
We met twice in person, both times outside Sirens Java & Tea. For each meeting, the artist arrived with his face and head completely covered. The pandemic made it convenient to conduct our interview outside in public without garnering stares, since wearing face masks has become the norm. In our second meeting, he wore dark sunglasses, causing us to not even make eye contact. For the record, after two lengthy in-person interviews, I’ve never seen the artist’s face, nor did he confide to me anything that would reveal his identity, including his real name.
Here’s what I can tell you about #ifoundyourcat. He’s older and taller than I imagined, with broad shoulders and the build of man who did not seem to work behind a desk, though he never revealed what he does for a living. Without telling me his exact age, he says he was “born in the ‘70s” and is a “first generation San Pedran.” Yes, that’s actually his cat. It’s a male that’s a few years old, but he wouldn’t tell me his name. His cat has even been trained to use the toilet. (There’s video evidence of this on his Instagram page.)
While many aspects of his story were impossible to fact-check, given the confidentiality requested and what little in the way of specific information was revealed, there was no reason for me to doubt that I was indeed speaking to the artist known as #ifoundyourcat.
When asked about who knows his real identity, he says that the only people who know are his parents and a “very small” group of friends who apparently all have an amazing ability to keep a good secret.
‘I CAN DO THAT’
The way he tells it, #ifoundyourcat’s artistic journey began in his early teens. Like many kids at that age, he was exploring what interested him, and graffiti art caught his eye.
“That’s when I started getting into graffiti, doing old school lettering and stuff like that,” he says. “When I was going to junior high, these guys would get bussed in from Wilmington. They were hardcore graffiti artists, and they were young, like 13, 14. They were getting up on freeways and stuff like that. When I was driving with my mom on the freeway, I would see them and be like, ‘Man, this is cool.’”
He would learn to replicate what they were doing by sitting next to them in class. “They were artists, and I guess they had family that were artists that were inspiring them to do art,” he says. “I [ended up being] inspired.”
His passion for art lasted all through high school, even though he points out “a lot of my friends weren’t into what I was into.” It wasn’t until college that #ifoundyourcat found his artistic calling.
Photo: courtesy #ifoundyourcat.
“When I went to college, I took as many art classes as I could,” he explains. “I went to a four-year university and got my bachelor’s degree. Throughout that period, I took everything – sculpting, painting, illustrating, photography, you name it. I even took extra classes in the summer.”
Armed with a well-rounded arts education, after college he attempted to make a name for himself in the street art scene but couldn’t find a hook, something that people could latch on to and would get him noticed. It wasn’t until a date night in 2013 that #ifoundyourcat found his muse.
“We’re at my house, and I put in the Banksy movie [Exit Through the Gift Shop],” he recalls. “We were watching it, and [my girlfriend at the time] was really intrigued by it, and I told her, ‘Hey, you know I can do this.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘If you can do it, why don’t you do it?’”
It was a challenge he wasn’t expecting but was willing to accept. The only problem was, he wasn’t sure what to paint.
“I was like, ‘What am I going to do? I can’t just do anything,’” he says. “Then I remembered what one of my teachers told me in school. He said, ‘You got to paint what you love.’ I looked down on the ground, I saw my cat. I was like, ‘I’m going to paint my cat.’ It wasn’t the first stencil that I had done, but it was the only one that caught on.”
MIXED RECEPTION
While most of the cats he’s painted in San Pedro have been removed or painted over through the years, #ifoundyourcat says one of his first early stencils is still around.
“It’s next to Brouwerij West,” he says. “When you go into the parking lot, right there on the corner, it’s on the backside of it. There’s a black cat image that’s at least eight or nine years old.”
The “San Pedro Cat” has evolved over time. It started off as a plain black stencil, which then graduated to a multicolored one, giving the cat the black-and-white look with a red collar, which was more in line with what his cat actually looks like. He’s since moved on to gluing pre-made posters of the cat using wheat paste, a popular method used by many street artists, which he still uses today. He’s also experimented with hard foam and cement statues of the cat that were placed in various locations, including Point Fermin Park and Cabrillo Beach. Those statues have since been removed.
The artist’s moniker also serves a dual purpose. Aside from being an alias, the hashtag also helps organize the many photographs and mentions of the cat on social media. A recent search of the hashtag on Instagram shows more than a thousand mentions.
Photo: courtesy #ifoundyourcat.
The cat wasn’t greeted in San Pedro with open arms at first. In the early days, arguments over whether the cat was considered art or vandalism were plentiful in the comments section in local social media groups. The buzz about #ifoundyourcat’s work was so heated that a story about the cat and the controversy ended up on the front page of the Daily Breeze in September 2013.
“All I did was paint a couple of cats, and next thing I knew [the cat] was on the front page of the local paper. Then it was on the six o’clock news, and then Telemundo,” he recalls. “My head was spinning. It was crazy.”
At one point, after the cat appeared in the newspaper, there was a small yet concerted effort to paint over any cat as soon as it was found. It got so bad that #ifoundyourcat asked his social media followers to post photos but not identify the art’s location for fear of it being removed too quickly.
“There was this one person that would go around and spray tan spray paint over my cats,” he recalls. “It was happening for a while, every time I painted a cat, someone would [post its location], then the next day, it would be painted over with tan spray paint. So I started painting over the tan spray paint with my cats again. I was doing that with a bunch of people that were painting over my cat.”
Fortunately for #ifoundyourcat, as time has moved on, the controversy has died down and the community, for the most part, seems to have embraced the image. It’s lasted long enough to become a part of San Pedro’s ever-evolving cultural and artistic history. So much so that someone (not the artist, he says) even made a tile for it on the 25th Street Mosaic wall.
“I love it,” he exclaims. “This is my community, and my community likes me. You know what I mean? I’ve gone through so much in my life that making other people happy [with my art] isn’t a crime in my eyes. It’s just a little cat. People seem to connect with it.”
INVISIBLE IN PUBLIC
Without revealing any of his methods, when asked how he’s been able to remain anonymous and not get caught, he says it’s not as hard as people think. He claims to have had a few close calls, but says he’s never been arrested or even ticketed as a result of his art.
“Doing it in open space when people are walking around, it’s just great,” he says laughing. “It’s so quick, you really have to catch me in the act. I pretty much stick to myself, and nobody bothers me. I was talking to my dad once and he asked me, ‘How fast can you do these stencils?’ I’m like, ‘I can do them in about five seconds.’ He was so impressed by it. I’ve evolved to pasting now, so it’s a little easier, a little faster, and I can get more intricate with the pieces that are put on the wall.”
Art from #Ifoundyourcat’s first gallery show at Machine Studio in Downtown San Pedro in April 2017. (photo: #Ifoundyourcat)
Riding the popularity of the “San Pedro Cat,” the artist decided to try and capitalize on his work by putting together a gallery exhibition at Machine Studio in Downtown San Pedro in 2017.
“For about three years, I was putting all my work into [the cat],” he recalls. “Then I met Mike Machin [at Machine Studio], and we just clicked. He’s a great guy. He said he’d keep my anonymity and handle the sales. The show got such a huge response that we did another one the following year. It was a huge steppingstone for me.”
In addition to prints of the black-and-white cat, for his first show, he also produced large paintings of the cat as various pop culture characters, like Battle Cat from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Lion-O from ThunderCats, thinking those could be sold at a premium. Unfortunately, his audience had other plans.
“Those were my treasures.” he says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to put these paintings in the show, that’s going to be awesome!’ So, I put them in, and no one cared about them. Everybody just cared about the little stencil of the cat. I put all this time and effort into these illustrative paintings, and no one even looked twice at [them].”
The shows did well for #ifoundyourcat financially. He invested his profits into producing merchandise, like stickers, pins, prints, and t-shirts. “All that money I just put back into the stickers, the equipment, the paint,” he says. “My art studio now is just a wall full of spray cans. It’s really great.”
FUTURE OF THE FELINE
San Pedro isn’t the only place where the cat has appeared. It’s been seen as far north as San Jose and as far south as San Diego, but he says the port town will always be its home.
“I love this community,” he says. “If the cat could be as popular as the Three-Eyed Fish, that’d be dope. It’s an honor to be a part of this town.”
The evolution of the “San Pedro Cat” continues. In preparation for the publication of this issue, #ifoundyourcat mentioned he may be extra active in the coming weeks and hit some new locations. Three new cats have appeared across town since our last interview, as documented on his Instagram page. More will undoubtedly follow.
So, what’s next? The artist says the cat may appear in ceramic tile form soon, like that of the popular European street artist Invader, who’s known for creating ceramic mosaics modeled on the pixelated art of early 1980s 8-bit video games.
“I’ve already done something similar to that with the foam releases,” he says. “I made a 3D foam cat that I put on the Vincent Thomas Bridge. I wanted something to say, ‘Hey, I’m here, you got to pay attention to me.’”
San Pedrans are definitely paying attention these days. Ideally, #ifoundyourcat says he’d love to be able to support himself financially through his art, but until that day happens, he still has to keep a day job.
“There are a lot of talented people in San Pedro, but they just have to get up off their [butts] and do it,” he says. “I did it. I had a little bit of motivation. I had to wake up at three or four in the morning, go hit up a wall, then go back home, take a shower, and go to work.”
He adds, “[San Pedro] is a working man’s town. Even the graffiti artist has to do a nine-to-five.” spt
For more info on #ifoundyourcat, you can find him on Instagram at @ifoundyourcat. For art inquiries, he can be reached via email at ifoundyourcat.art@gmail.com.
“The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence.” (Habakkuk 2.20)
“For everything there is a season…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3.1,7)
Silence is not always relevant. Being quiet in the face of injustice is unrighteous passivity. Recently a brother recalled a story from school. His friend from the neighborhood, a little girl with epilepsy, started to seize in the schoolroom. Jim, always the first responder, knew exactly what to do. The teacher disagreed, but this didn’t stop his plan to rescue her from physical harm and schoolroom shame. Eventually the teacher relented. Thank God for people who move and speak when the time calls for it.
Sometimes there is nothing more relevant than silence. Job had the worst season imaginable in his life. His kids were killed, his livelihood destroyed, and he developed a painful skin disease. Then his wife turned on him. When his friends heard about everything that happened to him, they showed up, “raised their voices and wept…and sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” (Job 2) There are times when silence is more profound than speech. That is relevant silence.
These are loud days. Televisions are on in every room, and there are devices in the hands of each person. Everything and everyone and every moment is “on.” It seems there are only a few unspoken thoughts. Even though I was born in San Pedro, I grew up in Minnesota. It was required that every conversation needed to start with a discussion about “the weather.” Now every conversation everywhere needs to start with a discussion about COVID-19. The only thing that can distract us from the virus is the upcoming elections.
One of my favorite churches in the world is Bethlehem Church just outside central Copenhagen, Denmark. Bethlehem has strong pastoral leadership but not the kind that stands in the way of the whole people of God joining in. The church building has a small footprint but soaring rafters. The people fill both spaces. I asked the old priest, Ole Skjerbæk Madsen, about this dynamic. He said during most of the year, the congregation is encouraged to pray out loud for real things in their and others’ lives. They are more interested in the congregation’s voice than in professional singers. They take time to pray for healing and experience it.
Bethlehem Church is active, but Pastor Ole said their activity looks different during election seasons. They don’t stop praying, but they do stop praying out loud. For the weeks before Election Day, the Church prays for their nation silently. He smirked and said, “During election season, it is nearly impossible for people not to go on a prayer campaign. They aren’t so much bringing their requests before God as they are trying to convince their fellow worshippers of who a true believer would vote for.”
There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” Wise Solomon doesn’t say, “There is a time to pray and a time not to pray.” Look at where we are. Look at the choices before us. Frankly, what is there to say but, “Lord, have mercy,” and then deep, profound and relevant silence. spt
Not even a global pandemic can frighten away Halloween revelers from wanting a good scare. Of course, with this particular year being what it is, instead of gathering around a firepit at Angels Gate Park as they’ve done for nearly two decades, the folks behind the annual Scary Stories event are taking it online.
“Due to the pandemic, we won’t be able to gather around the bonfire, but we will join each other around the stories, all in the comfort and safety of our own homes,” says Melanie Jones, producer and director of Scary Stories 18, in a statement.
This year, Scary Stories will be available as an online program from October 24–31. Anyone will be able to gather around their virtual fireplace (or real one, if you have it) and listen at their leisure to an all-new line up of spellbinding storytelling suitable for young and old, living and, well… you know.
Produced and directed by Jones, with help from Heather Handwerk and Bill Wolski, this unique, annual event showcases unforgettable tales for the Halloween season, some comic, some unsettling, and some truly terrifying. The audience provides the visual effects with their own imaginations, inspired by the evocative readings and the realistic sound effects.
Huge, monumental plans with a weekend full of festivities to celebrate the unveiling of the new Charles Bukowski statue in honor of the writer’s 100th birthday. Even without a global pandemic cutting our fundraising efforts off at the ankles in March, I will admit that I was overly ambitious about what would have been a Herculean task. We were just about to release tickets to our first fundraising event when rumors of the quarantine started. It was disappointing but completely necessary to cancel our entire slate of events and just wait and see. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still here, and we were unable to gather for any celebration this year. But that doesn’t stop our efforts to memorialize Charles Bukowski with a monument. It only means that the party will be that much sweeter when we will be able to gather again.
When we announced the project last year, we got an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, including the council office, local businesses and our neighbors. Thank you to each and every one of you that donated to our GoFundMe campaign. We’ve had some substantial private donations come in as well. While getting attention from international news outlets was pretty cool, I must say the best part was hearing the local stories about Bukowski in San Pedro, whether they were longtime fans or just had a funny Bukowski anecdote.
The biggest lesson to come out of the initial announcement of the Bukowski in Bronze project was that a lot of San Pedrans weren’t really familiar with who Bukowski was. That’s why I am working with a local poet and academic, Christian H. Lozada, to put together a presentation about Bukowski, with an emphasis on the works he completed here in San Pedro. Bukowski’s writing isn’t for everyone, but there is a commonality we all have with him as San Pedrans, so part of the project includes a study of how San Pedro inspired his work. This educational aspect is all part of the San Pedro Heritage Museum’s mission to celebrate the San Pedrans who have contributed great works of art to the world. Putting up a statue was never the ultimate goal; the statue is just a conversation starter that allows us to celebrate Bukowski’s work while having an honest conversation about who he was and the legacy of what he did here in San Pedro. We want to show the world that we’re not just some blue-collar town. There is culture here; we have inspired great art, and there’s more where that came from.
The last year hasn’t been all disappointment and despair; it’s actually been a pleasure to collaborate with some really wonderful people. The greatest joy of which is getting to work with our esteemed (and local) sculptor Eugene Daub. From the minute I thought about doing a Bukowski statue, I knew Eugene had to be the one to do it. Getting to witness his process up close has been a true honor. What excites me the most about this project is allowing a genius like Eugene Daub have fun and do his thing. I trust his talent and aesthetic so completely that I know we will all be grateful for the result. Beyond his talent, Eugene has been extremely generous and patient with the process of keeping this project going. He has even created a special piece of art that we will be releasing soon as a fundraiser for the statue.
The honest answer of when we’re going to be able to unveil a statue is going to come down to fundraising. COVID-19 has really affected every aspect of our lives, and a lot of people are struggling in one way or another. Prices for casting bronze have nearly doubled because of the pandemic, so we’re back at the drawing board with designs, trying to figure out what this new set of circumstances means for the statue. Luckily, we have a master sculptor at the helm and an amazing committee that is completely committed to bringing this dream to a reality. I’d like to personally thank everyone who has served this project in any capacity, especially Linda Lee Bukowski, Anne Daub, and our current Bukowski in Bronze committee members, Liz Schindler-Johnson, Alan Johnson, Joshua Stecker, Kelly McLeod-Hernandez, Christian H. Lozada, and Lee Williams. We will celebrate a new statue in Downtown San Pedro, and it will be wonderful. spt
One of the most consistent frustrations I see people have is not their ability to lose weight but the ability to keep it off.
Most people can, for short periods of time, manage to lose 20 to 30 pounds by sheer force of will. They get in a groove, they knuckle down, they get focused, and voila, the weight comes off. Sweet, sweet victory. And deep down, they hope that this time, it’s for good. But deeper down, they know it isn’t. Sooner or later, old habits start to creep their way in. They loosen the reins, stop doing what worked, and before they know it, they’re back where they started.
Losing weight is one thing. But living a lean, healthy lifestyle is something else entirely. It will require you to do some hard internal work to undo years of bad habits, and you’ll need to be patient, but if you persist, you’ll be off the dieting hamster wheel for good.
You just have to be a little self-aware and keep yourself in check. After 16 years, here is what I’ve found works best:
1. Always focus and be crystal clear on your “why.” Hands down, the most common questions and/or frustration I hear is, “I just can’t get motivated to work out or eat healthy.” This arises from the misconception that in order to work out and eat healthy every day, you have to feel pumped about it. As if “feeling it” is a prerequisite to getting the results we want. That is not what motivation is. Motivation is not a feeling, it’s a fire. One that burns internally, fueled by deeply personal and important reasons. No one can get you motivated because no one can decide for you what’s important. And once you have your reasons, you have to understand why what you’re doing today is serving those reasons.
2. Be realistic about your expectations, both about your progress and what you’re willing to do to get said progress. Not everything will happen as fast as possible and when you want it to. If you’re serious about what you want, you’ll need to have the patience to let it happen on its own time. Effort is not an ATM machine. There will be long periods of time where you’ll need to keep doing the work without the gratification of instant results. When you begin a diet, you’ll lose a lot of weight fast, then nature’s survival mechanisms kick in and seem to fight you every step of the way. You’ll lose fractions of a pound one week, nothing the next, and even gain some back in others, all while you’re still doing the hard work. This is normal and part of the process. Your success will depend on your ability to trust the process and set expectations accordingly.
3. Align your fitness with your personal preferences and personality.Let’s face it, exercise is hard. Eating healthy is hard. But it’s a non-negotiable if you want to look and feel healthy. That being said, it can still be enjoyable if you pick a routine and plan that fits you. You might like to lift weights or run or do Pilates. Whatever it is, it’s got to be something you see yourself doing forever. The same goes for diet. If your nutrition plan is a constant battle between hardcore restriction and all-out bingeing, you’ll always spin your wheels. Find a middle ground between freedom and discipline. And here’s a little secret: as long as you hang in there, your appetite will change. Over time, you’ll want the ice cream less and protein shake more because of how it makes you feel (well, most of the time).
4. Create an environment and relationships that sustain and reinforce the positive changes you’ve made. And lastly, all of the above is infinitely harder when you’re going it alone. If no one around you is trying to live a healthier lifestyle, it’s hard not to succumb to the gravitational pull of your lesser self. You need to surround yourself with people and circumstances that push you, challenge you, and pull you forward.
The last five months have been hard. In fact, this just might be the most isolating and difficult season some of us have ever experienced. For many, COVID-19 has brought us to our knees. While mourning the loss of family and friends, we yearn for the day we can hug our grandchildren and neighbors. We have lost our sense of “normal.” As a pastor and woman of faith, I believe that the rent we pay for our time on this earth is service. Service to everyone, no matter where they are in life. For many in our community, March of 2020 marked the time when some local families experienced hardship that many of us have been spared. First-time food shortage. The inability to pay rent. A struggle to avoid basic needs unlike ever before.
How we respond to challenging times like these define who we are as humans. We can choose to look those struggling in the eyes, or we can go about our day. It’s a choice we make every day.
Our neighbors are struggling. Their struggle is our call to action. A few in our community heard that plea and created The Harbor Neighborhood Relief Fund (HNRF) in March to support our most vulnerable individuals and families in Wilmington, Harbor City and San Pedro — those who are most impacted by the pandemic. And in early March, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Quality of Life Committee and the San Pedro Faith Consortium gathered to see how we could work together to make this fund a reality and respond to the greatest needs in our community — and quickly!
Our neighbors are powerful. This fund was formed by our community for our community. Thus far, we have given grants to 80 local families and individuals and three nonprofits. Families have used these funds for food, gas, medicine, support for children with special needs, and basic necessities to keep themselves afloat and safe at this time. We also connect folks to local resources like food pantries, rental assistance, and mental health support. This fund seeks to leverage the already-robust services we have in the Harbor area — and fill in gaps, as needed.
Our neighbors are grateful. Each week, we read often-heartbreaking applications. People who have tested positive for COVID-19 and cannot work or leave their homes to buy food; folks who are one month away from homelessness; parents of kids with special needs who are trying to just make it through the day. Each week, we safely deliver gift cards and resources to these neighbors in need. They are overwhelmed by the generosity of their own community. They’ve never experienced anything like this before.
“I washed my clothes for my children and myself, I got gas and a little food while I am waiting for assistance with unemployment. We are thankful.” – grant recipient.
Our neighbors need us. Applications have rolled in each week — and with increasing needs and severity. For us to sustain this level of support for those most in need, we need you. I’m asking you to open your eyes and see what you can give.
“The grant was a tremendous help for my family and me. I took my son to speech therapy thanks to the gas money. I bought some healthier food choices and activities to help our mental health.” – grant recipient.
This is your neighborhood. We are a connected community that cares for each other. You can make a difference.
Our neighbors are resilient. But, even in quarantine, we aren’t meant to do hard things alone.
Every dollar donated goes directly to our neighbors most in need. By leveraging the expertise of local leaders, Feed and Be Fed and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, the HNRF has no administrative costs. I’m so honored to chair this effort and be supported by executive committee members: Amber Sheikh Ginsberg (Harbor APC Commissioner and community activist), Amy Grat (CEO of EXP), Jamie Moore (assistant chief, LAFD), Amanda Adams Riley (co-pastor of The Garden Church), Peter Rothe (chairman of Feed and Be Fed), and Lee Williams (chairman, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce). spt
Do you have these same thoughts? If so, you aren’t alone. Most of our past columns have been fact-driven and even statistic-based, but we felt it would be fun this month to simply share our professional opinion of what’s taking place and impacting our local real estate market. This column reflects some of our thoughts, ideas, and assumptions of why real estate seems to continue forging ahead in the midst of a global pandemic.
Working from Home – Due to the closure of many office spaces, working from home has become the new normal. This is an interesting phenomenon that may be helping buyers keep some of their hard-earned money in their pockets. Money saved on office rent, gas, auto insurance or even the decision to not own a car may directly lead to increased purchasing power. Buyers may now be considering purchasing a larger home with an extra room for an office or some additional space to satisfy their new working-from-home conditions.
Schools Closed and Open Spaces Limited – School’s out for summer (cue Alice Cooper), but will kids actually ever go back to their respective schools? Distance learning, teaching from home, and Zoom classes for kids are now becoming common for many Americans. Buyers may be scrambling for homes with larger yards, pools (P.E. class must go on!) or additional rooms to be used as study spaces. There’s no question that some active buyers are identifying homes with these “wish list” features as they search for new properties.
Historically Low Mortgage Rates – We informed the parents of one of our clients that the current interest rate on a 30-year mortgage has now dropped to nearly 2.75%, and their mouths dropped open. Decades ago, mortgage rates were over 15% and just months ago, jumped to what we thought was an unimaginable 4%, but they’ve dropped again. So what does this mean to prospective buyers? To give an example, a buyer purchasing a $750,000 home with a 20% down payment will need to secure a $600,000 mortgage. The monthly payment at 4% is approximately $3,424/mo. (based on 30-year fixed rate). At 2.75%, that payment decreases by approximately $415/mo. That’s a considerable savings that can also help a buyer stretch their finances to secure a higher-priced or larger home.
Housing Inventory –The basic principle of supply and demand moves to the forefront once again in real estate. If supply decreases, competition for available housing increases, which leads to rising prices. San Pedro and most of the South Bay continue to experience a record low homes for sale. This continues to cause multiple offer scenarios for desired homes as they hit the open market. With limited housing inventory and the current low mortgage rate environment, it’s difficult to envision a major market correction in the near future despite the craziness in our economy.
It’s clear our country is experiencing some of the most challenging economic times since the paralyzing financial crisis of 2008. We are a great nation that always finds a way to rise to the challenge when faced with adversity. This time is no different. Collectively, we will get through this. Shop Local! Live Local! spt
Even with the realities and necessary limitations due to the pandemic, now is a time that our children need more support — and not less — given their social-emotional and academic development needs.As the school year has begun with schools closed and students relegated once again to “virtual” instruction delivered to their homes, it is important to note that this is not enough. The reality is that our children need more during this unprecedented crisis rather than the limited engagement provided by what is delivered and understood over a Chromebook.
To quote a Wall Street Journal article dated August 15: “Remote work has been a success for American corporations while remote learning has been a slow-motion disaster for children and parents.” The article notes that these corporate parents who work at home have the “availability” to support their children during the school day or pay for rising childcare centers or similar opportunities to fill the gaps in virtual instruction. But what about the growing number of poor and minimum wage parents who must actually “go” to work and cannot afford childcare or additional academic support?
As the Los Angeles Times noted in their July 25 article “With Schools Closed, Learning Pods Take Sprout,” they rightfully state that these academic support pods are only available to families who have the economic means to pay for a tutor or teacher to come to their home and offset the learning loss that is endemic to virtual instruction. In their follow-up editorial on July 29, they state, “The inequalities that have long plagued traditional public schools were multiplied during the emergency shutdown” and “before long, the ‘pod’ children might be a semester or even a full year ahead of others.”
At the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, we are making a commitment to the “others” with daily in-person academic and social-emotional development support from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. at our seven traditional Club locations while our 12 school sites are closed. Through a great collaboration with Local District South Superintendent Michael Romero and Community of Schools Directors Lou Mardesich (San Pedro), David Kooper (Wilmington), and Terry Ball (Harbor City/Lomita), we have engaged in a partnership to provide 500 elementary and middle school students with full-day engagement including virtual programming support during the scheduled morning hours and a full afternoon of enrichment programming for a well-rounded day. We have implemented all of the COVID-19-related safety protocols at each of these seven sites (which limits us to 500 youth). With LAUSD support, we provide three meals and a snack each day, and we have made this all free so that “those who need us most” can participate and compete with the “pod kids.” Our pods are 10-1 or less and with training provided by Superintendent Romero and his leadership team, we are supporting the needs of these youth with the daily engagement they desperately require. In addition, we are engaging another 750–1,000 high school students with much-needed college pathway support via our most successful College Bound program, both virtually and through direct appointments.
Yes, we realize that even with all of our safety protocols and heavy investment in the materials and services needed to fully facilitate those safety measures, we too may succumb to the virus and have to temporarily close the doors to one or more of these sites. But we cannot just stand by and allow the “others” to fall further behind — neither academically nor socially and emotionally. We are providing these important youth the environment to learn and continue to develop their full being rather than being relegated to staying home for another year with that limited reality. And in all honesty, the 1,250 or so students we are sponsoring each day/week is not enough; we need others to step up and provide the same. So, who is willing? Who else will provide our youth with more than just a limited virtual school year? Will you?spt
