Bakersfield: Neighborhood and Culture

By Cliff Potts
Bay Bay City, Leyte, Philippines — June 11, 2026

This is a serialized installment from the autobiography of Cliff Potts.

Catechism

I once skipped catechism.

Instead of going to class, I let myself into the babysitter’s house and sat drawing. The phone rang several times. I picked it up and set it down without speaking.

Eventually it was determined that I was safe. The episode ended without lasting consequence.

On another occasion, when no teacher appeared, the nuns persuaded my mother to lead the class. She had no lesson plan. She told Bible stories while we folded paper airplanes. It was the most memorable catechism session I experienced.

Dead Man’s Curve

Walking home one afternoon, Geri mentioned she was going to play “Dead Man’s Curve,” the Jan and Dean song released in 1963.

I asked “How do you play that?! Can I play too?!”

Little brothers insert themselves into older conversations. With eye roll responses. That pattern held.

Christmas on Television

Toward the end of our Bakersfield years, Geri, then a high school freshman, performed “Little Drummer Boy” with her choir on a local Bakersfield television station.

I remember sitting in front of the television watching her.

I was proud of her.

Disneyland

We visited Disneyland once during those years.

Submarine ride. Pirates of the Caribbean. Jungle Cruise. Monorail. Train. Teacups.

I did not ride the Matterhorn. My mother stayed mostly with me while my father and sisters took the larger rides.

It remains one of the clearer highlights of that period.