Newspaper columnist David Allen entertained the Club with his perspective on
the events and culture in Southern California. A self-proclaimed “Voice for
the Region”, David has been reporting stories about the Inland Empire for
more than 30 years. His thrice-weekly columns have been collected into
five books to date, and he read two essays from his most recent (“not my
last, hopefully”) tome Waving at Strangers: 2006 to 2010. The first, about
losing consciousness after a blood draw at the doctor’s office (he declined to
fill out the comment card the physician provided) and the second concerning
the closing of an archetypal barber shop and the retirement of its long-time
proprietor. As a bonus, he read a yet-to-be published essay about how
former San Bernardino mayor and Superior Court judge, Pat Morris, came
into possession of Lyndon Johnson’s iconic Stetson autographed by Lady
Bird Johnson during a Presidential visit to San Bernardino in 1964.
Davidcontinues to write feature stories of general interest with droll wit, working
on several simultaneously to meet the challenge of the unyielding publication
deadlines newspapers still require. This editor suggests you read his column
in The Redlands Daily Facts, The Sun, and/or the Press-Enterprise, and he
can be found on X@DavidAllen909 and FaceBook DavidAllencolumnist.
He’s an entertaining guy and quite the storyteller.