Who--or what--should be Bethlehem's mascot, the person or other being who best represents the quintessence of what may be called Bethlehemness?
Should it be an early Moravian missionary? A nineteenth century entrepreneur? A Bethlehem steel manager? How about a steelworker, who is, when it comes to it, the foundation of the city's past prosperity? (Let's face it--without the ability to find capable workers, even the entrepreneurs and managers will have to seek other locales.)
I nominate a hairdresser.
(I am perfectly aware that the term "hairdresser" may be politically incorrect, but I don't have time to look up the new term in the Thesaurus of Ever-Mounting Silliness).
Besides, we are not talking about just any hairdresser--we are talking about Bubbles.
Bubbles Yablonsky is the heroine of a series of detective novels by Sarah Strohmeyer, who learned her Bethlehem growing up as the daughter of famed Globe-Times editor John Strohmeyer. Her irrepressible hairdresser protagonist is widely regarded as an airhead. Actually, this former student of Two Guys Community College has a high degree of street smarts and basic human kindness, and a determination to gain some of the finer things in life for herself and her beloved daughter. One of these finer things, coveted strictly for herself, is photographer Steve Stiletto.
But to gain any of her goals she needs to overcome a tendency on the part of the power elite to "diss" her. And her luck is not always the best--for example, she inadvertently gets involved in a brawl while covering a meeting at the historical "Moon Inn." As a result, she nearly loses her new job with the local paper.
It is fun to travel Bethlehem with Bubbles--Southside, Northside, all around the town. If you haven't had the pleasure, look for the books about her in the public library, in local bookstores, or on the net.
See if you don't agree that Bubbles should be our city's mascot.
Because Bethlehem needs a good laugh.

To win, though, she has to overcome a general tendency on the part