Fires sometimes interrupt dinner preparations at Fire Station 35, a few blocks from University Towne Centre. But when I watched the men one late afternoon, I was struck by the calm grace of their motions. …
November 26, 1997
Wednesday, November 26
San Diego fire station cooks at UTC, Midway, Southeast
Waifs, strays, and grace come to Thanksgiving dinner
I hate walking along the street and seeing cars filled with families driving to grandmother’s house. I hate for the neighbors to see me and to imagine their thinking, “I wonder if she has any place to go.”
November 26, 1997
San Diego avocado growers fight off thieves
Despite the revolver, the man got out and tried to push the car. It wasn't until Jeanne fired a shot in the air that he stopped, got out of the car, and put the avocados back into the bin.
November 26, 1997
Off-shore sewage pipeline in South Bay $98 million
What's the biggest challenge facing new San Diego City Manager Mike Uberuaga? Controversies over a new baseball stadium, the convention center expansion, or cost overruns at the proposed downtown library? None of the above, say …
November 26, 1997
Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Desserts is "like my baby"
It's 80 degrees outside and there is no breeze and a couple sit in a snug booth at Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Desserts on Fifth Avenue and with neither comment nor expression methodically eat several slices …
November 26, 1997
Matthew Lickona gets kisses from first baby
When I was in college, some of the tutors would bring their families up to campus on Sundays to attend Mass and stay for brunch. When your school has only 200 students, the influx of …
November 26, 1997
Darryl Young roots out SEAL impostors
When is a SEAL not a SEAL? Too often, says Darryl Young, an ex-SEAL who trained in Coronado. Young heard of so many many SEAL impostors that he helped form a group called the "U.S. …
November 26, 1997
Thursday, November 20
Childhood's End: Dr. Spock at 94
“For the last 20,30 years, I’ve been afraid of the day when I’d be senile. And I still haven’t gotten over that.” Morgan later assured the audience that Dr. Spock was hardly senile yet.
November 20, 1997
San Diego brides and brides-to-be who can't imagine divorce
Let's start off on a nice bleak note. The standard line these days is that one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. Given those odds and the trauma of pulling the threads of …
November 20, 1997
Why your ATM machine keeps asking if you speak Spanish
Matt: Okay, okay, the Braille on the ATM keys question has been addressed. Now what I want to know is, if the card/machine knows who I am, and how much money! have, and what my …
November 20, 1997
Whether to leave my computer on all day
Dear Matt: Some people leave their computers on all day; others who use their computers less intensively turn them on and off as they need them. Leaving them on full time consumes more electricity but …
November 20, 1997
Another difference between Hawaii and San Diego — tiled pools
Matmail: Just getting back from living in Maui for a couple of months. In Maui I was tiling pools. Not just the edges, but the entire pool. Coming back to San Diego, I noticed that …
November 20, 1997
Sex-club operator Thad Poppell comes out swinging
Like most politicians, Eighth District City Councilman Juan Vargas hungers for publicity, but Vargas may regret one occasion when the press gave him the attention he asked for. A little over a year ago, Vargas …
November 20, 1997
San Diego grand jury to look into Chargers ticket guarantee
Word from good sources at city hall has it that the county grand jury has launched a major investigation of corruption charges involving the city's ticket guarantee contract with the Chargers. Under threat of subpoena, …
November 20, 1997
La Mesa Boulevard began as a wagon trail
The stretch of the Boulevard people call “the Village” runs from Spring Street up past Fourth. The Village hasn’t changed much since my boyhood, when I could overlook it from my bedroom window.
November 20, 1997
Fast drivers as escapists
Sir: Is it true that people who drive or live their life at a fast pace are basically unhappy with their present life situation and are hopeful of getting away from it? — Aram Kaprielian, …
November 20, 1997
Thursday, November 13
Amy Gerstler, San Diego's wondrous poet
"Words that rhymed meant a lot to me, and also were very comforting. I liked knowing things by heart so that when I felt weird or bad or couldn’t sleep, I could repeat them."
November 13, 1997
How they make M&Ms round
Dear All-Knowing One: Often, candies such as chocolate-covered cherries are mostly rounded, with one flat side. That is due to the candy being laid down to dry after being dipped in the chocolate. But peanut …
November 13, 1997
McPhatter's rage at 32nd Street Navy Filipino employees
Captain Thomas McPhatter, 74, USN, retired from the Navy Chaplain Corps, stands up. He looks gravely at the dozen people gathered around, mostly African-Americans like him. The meeting comes to order. "In your own way, …
November 13, 1997
What happened to Stan Humphries' brain?
In a curious way, Stan Humphries is among the luckier victims of concussion, Schrock says. The hit he took was so hard that it knocked him out, leaving no question that he had been injured.
November 13, 1997
KFMB-TV's Graham Ledger gets "dart" from the Columbia Journalism Review.
Graham Ledger, KFMB-TV's weekend anchor, has drawn a dreaded "dart" from the Columbia Journalism Review. Last February, the magazine reports, Ledger appeared in a two-part television series about a laser fix for nearsightedness -- featuring …
November 13, 1997
Twenty-seven years of unread letters in a disabled San Diego child's family
Sheri’s brows were knitted, her lips tight. Like a scowling infant, unhappy thoughts appeared to flit over her face. The eyelids fluttered, and then her eyes opened; they were beautiful—large, a brown color flecked with gold.
November 13, 1997
Why I might not want an electric blanket that cools me
Matt: Even here in America’s Finest (Weather) City, most every household undoubtedly contains at least one electric blanket. But why aren’t electric blankets to provide cooling available in stores, too? Since electricity is used in …
November 13, 1997
Thursday, November 6
They went from MCRD to Vietnam – Khe Sanh, Con Thien, Dewey Canyon – and finally San Diego
A lot of them — the kids, I mean — went to boot camp, came out of boot camp, got on an airplane to Vietnam, and went straight to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). One such …
November 6, 1997
How and why the blind use an ATM
Matt: You know how ATM machines are... every bank is different. Some have buttons next to the screen, some have buttons on the counter below the screens. Some ask you if you want $20, $40, …
November 6, 1997
Jamaica Kincaid's My Brother
“The new editor at the New Yorker isn’t interested in writing, at all. At first I didn’t understand that she wasn’t interested in writing. That she was, you know, interested in giving a good party.”
November 6, 1997
Zundel, North America's premiere Holocaust revisionist, run by Carlsbad woman
Ingrid Rimland sees herself as a "determined, hardworking German mother." The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sees her as a "ferociously anti-Semitic pro-Nazi apologist" - a characterization Rimland dismisses with impatience. "I am not a hateful person," …
November 6, 1997
UCSD-TV: boob tube for eggheads
It's 3:00 a.m. Sleep is beyond reach. You don't have cable; you have four channels, not counting those in Spanish. You've got an infomercial, Smokey and the Bandit III, news, and PBS - a show …
November 6, 1997
George Gorton's tenant, pornography kingpin Reuben Sturman,
George Gorton, Mayor Susan Golding's ex-boyfriend and current campaign guru, is raising eyebrows in state political circles. It seems that Nelson Communications, the public relations and lobbying firm Gorton has gone to work for in …
November 6, 1997
Those sun billboards saying "use your cabeza"
Matt: My girlfriend and I have seen these sun billboards around town lately that say, “Use your cabeza.” We both have our guesses about what they're advertising, so we ended up making a bet. If …
November 6, 1997