Portrait of a columnist

For years, readers have awakened to his column in The Press-Enterprise and on PE.com.

Dan Bernstein fans have grown accustomed to tales about wayward sheepdogs, his wife fixing everything around the house and the foibles of public officials.

On October 14^th, readers got a chance to ask Bernstein about all the stories he has relayed in print and online for nearly three decades.

At a “Good Morning Beaumont” breakfast, the audience peppered Bernstein with questions about his craft, what inspires him, the watchdog role of a free press, and even how he became a champion “whistler.”

Beaumont Chamber president Lynn Bogh Baldi introduced Bernstein to those gathered in the dining room at the Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon.

“Four times a week, his talents as a writer, humorist and chronicler of life in the Inland Empire have made us laugh, made us cry, and made us think, and after all these years, he keeps us wondering—how in the heck can he be so clever?” Baldi said. “I could only be talking about the Inland Empire’s answer to the great, old-time newspaper columnists like Jimmy Breslin, Herb Caen and Jack Smith.”

Voice for the Inland Empire

Bernstein, who has been a P.E. columnist for almost 30 years, started by whistling the well-known tune, “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!”

The columnist began whistling decades ago when his wife spotted an advertisement in the New Yorker about a contest. Bernstein and a buddy won the “novelty” portion of the competition, in which Bernstein whistled a song called “Blue Skies.”

When it comes to writing a column, Bernstein said he picks topics that he feels strongly about and can have an opinion on.

“I try to write with some intelligence, although that might be debatable, and some passion,” Bernstein remarked. “Readers are very smart and I respect their intelligence immensely.”

Remembering our soldiers

A question from the audience about a recent column titled “Portrait of a young man” showed how Bernstein can be very insightful.

Someone had written the newspaper upset about one in a series of “American Hero” banners that hang near Fairmount Park in Riverside. The 9-foot-high banners pay tribute to soldiers who died while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan or after they left the service. Most are shown in their uniform. But a highly decorated sniper, Shaun Paul Raymond, was shown bare-chested, tattooed and with a large rifle over his shoulder.

On a recent weekend, Bernstein sat with Raymond’s family in their home for an hour and half. He came away touched by the excruciating pain of trying to summarize their child’s life in a single picture.

Bernstein wrote: “We like our wars smart and tidy, our soldiers crisp and clean.”

Then, he invited readers to take a drive out to see the banner.

“You’ll see a young man named Shaun Paul Raymond."

Columns like this one about a soldier and countless others that Bernstein has written, along with lighthearted tales and political satires and biting commentaries about government waste and corruption, are what makes the columnist almost a living legend among loyal readers. He has written thousands of columns, with many more just waiting for the telling … along with a whistle or two.