This is exactly the room I’ve been afraid of all my life. A place where I have landed in middle age. Somehow I have failed, this time thoroughly. I find myself on a hard mattress …
December 9, 1999
News & Stories
A brief stay at downtown San Diego's Pickwick Hotel
Macho studies at UCSD
A story shared between men, both in their 20s, both fathers: “I’m coming up Montezuma, and I see a pickup truck in the left-turn lane with its hazard lights on. I pull over to help …
December 9, 1999
Venture along the Pacific Crest Trail near Kwaaymii Point for hundred-mile views through transparent winter air
When late-autumn Santa Ana winds blow across San Diego County bringing 80- to 90-degree temperatures to the coast, people visiting the 5000- to 6000-foot elevations of the Laguna Mountains are surprised to find the temperatures …
December 9, 1999
My heart aches for Angela
At the doctor, Lucy sat quietly and read a book while Dr. Gross snipped the Frankenstein stitches from Johnny’s head. A quick peek in Johnny’s ears revealed an ear infection left over from a cold.
December 9, 1999
Are there dual citizenships for US citizens?
HA, WET CLIMATE (a Matthew Alice anagram): To settle a bet, I called the INS to see if there is such a thing as dual citizenship for a U.S. citizen. Ha ha ha. Hope the …
December 9, 1999
What's new in the art of using critters to fix up injuries?
Yo, Matt! When I was a kid, for $2 we could rent a leech from Gregory Peck's dad, the pharmacist at Ferris & Ferris, Fifth and Market, stick it on your black eye, and voilá, …
December 9, 1999
Judge Dick Murphy runs for mayor of San Diego
On a clear November morning, Judge Dick Murphy can see most of San Diego from the corner of his backyard. On a hillside in the saint-named streets behind St. Therese Catholic Church in San Carlos, …
December 9, 1999
Reverend Cindy Witt – Lutheran and lesbian
When Martin Luther invented Protestantism, he created anarchy. Luther's unmooring of Christianity from centuries of Church practice and teaching generated ironies and contradictions that remain unresolved. Reverend Cindy Witt is a recent orphan of the …
December 9, 1999
Padres slugger Tony Gwynn sues Seltzer, Caplan
Padres slugger Tony Gwynn is shooting it out in court with Seltzer, Caplan, Wilkins and McMahon, one of the town's most well-connected law firms. According to a legal malpractice claim Gwynn and wife Alicia filed …
December 9, 1999