An invitation to add improver label to...

An invitation to add improver label to Bell Curve

In regards to “The Bell Curve.”

I was an “improver” long before the name was coined. You know, the

guys you love to hate. This time, however, I might give you a new

slant on the type of people we are.

When I get the Thursday Daily Pilot, I usually look for “The Bell

Curve” immediately. Now here is something that cooks. Who will I

laugh at this time?

Whoops, guess who has been caught in Joseph N. Bell’s snare this

time? You got it. Me.

“An old dog can teach an old dog new tricks” is as slick a piece

of work as I have ever seen (July 3). The trouble being is that it

did happen to him and to me at the same time. A few differences are

that I paid more dearly than he. Of course, at the time, I didn’t

know how big the bill would be, but knew I was going to get the

shaft. It was after hours, of all things. That means everything, and

I do mean everything, is paid for doubly.

You can’t tell dogs and children not to get sick at night. If you

can decipher the bill, and it took us a while, you will find that

“hazardous waste” can stand for a number of things, up to and

including you dog’s bathroom habits. Of course, since there are no

bathrooms provided in the sick room, they have got you there.

Never forgetting your heart’s love for his 16-year-old dog and my

16-year-old dog’s big brown eyes that can talk when needed to get an

extra bite of dinner, a treat already given and one that pleads for a

nap on the bed with you on a sunny afternoon.

At night, he has his own bed, but figures that the bed during

naptime is fair game. The good thing is he can no longer hear, and

our annual block party on the Fourth of July no longer scares him or

makes him howl, which now endears me to my neighbors.

We all read terrible things in the paper, and sometimes you throw

it down in disgust. But read Joseph N. Bell and your day is made, the

coffee is sweeter, and the gas bill for the car today is lower.

So I propose that we ask Joseph to become one of us. An improver!

You improve my day with your wonderful humor and stories. It even

helped when the vet bill came due. Come give us a laugh and help us

see ourselves as others see us and maybe we will find that this grand

man has taught us a lesson we badly need.

JANICE DAVIDSON

Westside

Thankful for an end to Huscroft House story

I read the latest Daily Pilot article regarding the Huscroft House

with great relief, except for the inaccurate part about “previous

offers to move the house falling through” (“Huscroft House gets its

own lot,” Tuesday). Let me explain.

My involvement with the Huscroft House goes back several years.

The house was still located on Santa Ana Avenue, and Mr. Huscroft was

in the process of moving out. While walking through the house with

him, I was struck by the incredibly original condition the 1917 house

was in. He explained that it would soon be torn down unless the city

of Costa Mesa purchased it. I felt the house was a historical

treasure and should not be destroyed. I reluctantly offered to

purchase it from him should the city not proceed.

To my relief, Linda Dixon, a Costa Mesa planning commissioner at

the time, felt the same way I did. She assured me the city would take

it, and they did. I was thrilled the house was to be saved and would

be seen by the public after the city restored it. They bought it, of

course, but never used it.

About two years ago, the city asked for bids from individuals to

take the Huscroft House. I was one of only two parties to respond.

Badly damaged as it was, I still felt it should be saved. I offered

to purchase a lot on the Eastside (I had located a few for sale) and

move the house there at my expense. The city decided to pursue the

other offer without so much as a phone call to me. It turned out the

other party had no funds to complete their offer.

Another year went by, and the city again decided to find someone

to take the further deteriorated house. Once again, I was one of only

two respondents. I repeated my offer to move the house at my expense.

I explained that had the City Council followed up on my earlier

offer, the house would no longer by a city problem. Once again, I

received not so much as a phone call from anyone at the city. So much

for the other “offers falling through,” as the article stated.

However, this time there seems to be a happy ending to the

Huscroft House story. It is to be saved, and that is all I ever

wanted.

Thank you, John Morehart, for what will be a tremendous effort on

your part, and thank you to the City Council for making it possible.

MICHAEL STEINER

Costa Mesa