I was born in Long Beach. Lived on the east side of it for most of 25 years. Yet even I have a sort of default setting inside my head that says “dangerous, rundown” when thinking about the city.

I like Long Beach, but it would be Compton (as in, “straight out of”) if it weren’t on the water.

So, when an online news service that covers Long Beach sent out a daily update, last week, and the subject line was:

“Long Beach ranks in the top 15 cities in the nation to get your …”

Well, my first three or four or five notions were not positive.

“Long Beach ranks in the top 15 cities in the nation to get your …”

… purse snatched.

… car stolen.

… home burglarized.

… head shot off.

Really. That’s where I thought the story was going. Some grim statistic or unhappy story.

Those notions of criminal behavior came up first, second and third and I almost had to laugh. How did my hometown get like that? How did it become shorthand for a lawless, undesirable place?

I can remember when the rich kids on the television series named The O.C. would make references to Long Beach as a dangerous, sinister place, and I thought they were being simplistic.

“Parts of it have problems, but the rest …”

Then we moved downtown and found ourselves living among homeless people, and mentally ill people and just plain ol’ criminals. We could hardly get through the night without hearing police sirens somewhere nearby. I remember when 14 or 15 Long Beach PD vehicles were parked in the street below our apartmenton, rousting some bad people a few doors down.

And when you live in that part of Long Beach, it isn’t like things are going to get better two blocks north, or 10 blocks or north or 20 blocks north. It is grim almost from the edge of the Pacific Ocean to … South Pasadena?

Anyway, the subject line read: “Long Beach ranks in top 15 cities in the nation to get your … Halloween on.

Ohhh.

Halloween.

Not my first guess. Or second. Or third.

Long Beach may have an image problem.