Pro tennis in our own backyard
As Sal Moretti predicted in a column on Monday, it has been a great week for tennis, with the Bakersfield Racquet Club hosting the Bakersfield Tennis Open.
The event, which concludes today, has run concurrently with the ATP tournament at Indian Wells. Indian Wells features the top players in the world but the BTO is no slouch either having players ranked as high as in the 200s in the world. Past tournaments have included players Frances Tiafoe, Casper Rudd, Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz, all who are now in the top 20.
The BTO is an opportunity to see world-class tennis up close, as in a few feet away. It’s hard to imagine how good these players are and how hard they hit the ball.
Even if you do not normally watch tennis, it’s worth stopping by the club at the corner of Pine and Truxtun today and catching some of the action. It’s free and, as Moretti said, it’s an opportunity to see players before they reach the biggest stage like Indian Wells. Come on out and treat yourself.
Bob Rutledge, who died recently, was a true Bakersfield character. I did a column on the owner of Bob’s Bait Bucket and Kern River Bait in 1989 and I still have fond memories of him. He was behind the counter of the Bait Bucket every day until health reasons kept him away. He was a worker.
His resume was thick and interesting. He was always a great cook and in his late 60s he went back to school at Bakersfield College, where he studied and graduated with a degree in culinary arts. Who does something like that at the age of 68? Bob had an enormous amount of spunk.
As his well-written obit stated, he was a
conservationist — planting trees in the Panorama Vista Preserve, rescuing fish in Truxtun Lake when it dried up and transplanting them to Hart Park and then coming up with the idea of sinking Christmas trees at Lake Isabella and Buena Vista Lake in order to create more fish habitat. I always wondered whose idea that was.
What didn’t he do? He and his wife, EJ, fostered kittens, paid for their adoption fees as well as adopted stray cats.
He also purchased animals from 4H youth at the fair and donated the processed meat to the homeless shelter.
What a man. What a story. He could have been a character out of a Larry McMurtry novel.
A celebration of life will be held for Rutledge from noon to 3 p.m. April 20 at Hart Park, Section 7.
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How great is spring? Although spring officially begins March 19, make no mistake, we’re there now.
The sweet peas are peeking out at us ready to treat us with their sweet fragrance and humble beauty.
The pear trees bloomed first followed by the ornamental plum trees and then the liquidambars. March may be Bakersfield’s finest month.