"Careful, Ma; don't spill your soup," I warned. "First time you spill, that's it — you're going to the home.” Mom's reply was immediate. "I know. I've picked out what I want to take with me."
May 5, 2005
News & Stories
Reader writers honor Mom
Mystery Dish
“I prefer the average size of a dinner to be 30 to 50. For that one, we had 99.”
When Elton John Plays
When Elton John plays Cox Arena tomorrow, his hospitality room must be kept at a "comfortable temperature at all times (60 degrees in the summer, 70 degrees in the winter)." The room requires "table and …
May 5, 2005
Jewel
Jewel, in the studio working on her sixth album due for release in September, posted the following audio message on her website: "I'm in LA and I'm writing songs.... I'm pretty excited about two of …
May 5, 2005
Radio Wars are Common
Radio wars are common, but when Arbitron identifies a "ratings distortion" by a station, it's a rarity. Last week, Arbitron told advertisers that Clear Channel--owned KUSS ("U.S. 95.7," a country station) had ratings numbers that …
May 5, 2005
Unapologetic from New Orleans
Allen Boudreaux why unapologetic? well, mostly because the name was available as a dot-com domain back in march 2001 when I started keeping a weblog. that, and it just sounded like a cool thing to …
May 5, 2005
The Hot Snakes release
The Hot Snakes release of The John Peel Sessions -- only on 7" vinyl -- "sold so well that we had to put it out on CD," says guitarist John Reis. Other indications of local …
May 5, 2005
I'm the Guitar Center Guitar Champion
"I'm the Guitar Center guitar champion of San Diego," says Greg Vaughan, winner of the San Diego Guitarmageddon competition -- a nationwide contest presented by Guitar Center. "On the day of my [preliminary] performance, I …
May 5, 2005
If You Go to an All-Guys' School
"If you go to an all-guys' school, you're not going to write a song about grass growing," says singer Murphy Martin, 16, of Muff. One of their songs employs the band's name and a lewd …
May 5, 2005
Pro-pot bands
Pro-pot bands cheapen the value of industrial hemp, says Jordan Loder. "They stereotype hemp as being psychoactive [and] revel in the fact that they are breaking the law. They behave the same way people did …
May 5, 2005
Back when it was okay to pee at the beach
Thirty Years Ago For less than most athletic clubs (the Rowing Club is only S10 a month for students and military), one can use the club's boats (7 single wherries, 2 doubles, 2 four-oared; 3 …
May 5, 2005
I'd Like to Shoot a Gun
'Some fellas call themselves survivalists, but these mountain men were the true survivalists; they lived off what the mountain gave them. Most people thought these men died from fighting the Indians, but they died from …
May 5, 2005
Dede's pride and joy
Former state senator Dede Alpert decided not to run for San Diego mayor maybe due to scrutiny from critics who contend she is too closely linked to big labor. The Democrat -- formerly from Coronado, …
May 5, 2005
Bean Disguise
Abe McNeil says that convenience is what prompts him to buy Café Moto beans to stock the PJ's Coffee and Tea franchise he manages next to the Hilton Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. It's only …
May 5, 2005
Liars' Paradise
To weave a cleverly tangled web of secret offshore tax havens, sometimes it takes two to tangle. If the two tanglers are dead,it can be difficult for government investigators to penetrate the maze. Despite this …
May 5, 2005
High Above Downtown
I went to two events downtown. The first was trying to fight traffic after a Padres game. The second was me getting lost. The Hyatt Hotel near the convention center had a festival showcasing American …
May 5, 2005
Spoiled-a-Lot
All charming people, I fancy, are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction. -- Oscar Wilde 'Do you want to go see Spamalot?" I asked David. We sat at opposite ends of our living …
May 5, 2005
Descend into Big Tujunga Canyon, a deep gash in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Angeles National Forest's Fall Creek Trail threads the steep, north wall of Big Tujunga Canyon and offers unique vistas of Big Tujunga's dramatic "Narrows" section below. Big Tujunga Canyon drains much of the western end …
May 5, 2005
The Reader's Eye on Television
Hooters girls danced in circles beneath flickering TV screens. Their dance was a sexually charged Hokey Pokey for guys who were celebrating a birthday. "You put your name tag in! You put your name tag …
May 5, 2005
The Rock
She was the hardest-working human being I've ever known. The first of her four children was born in 1940, the last, 4 years later. For the next 20-plus years she did what mothers did back …
May 5, 2005
All About Ease
Editor's Note: This restaurant has closed since publication. Some restaurants exist solely to give pleasure and ease, rather than serve up social scenes or culinary coups. They're not your showoffy Manolo stilettos but your Kenneth …
May 5, 2005
Do You Hear What I Hear? Religious Calling, the Priesthood, and My Father
Do You Hear What I Hear? Religious Calling, the Priesthood, and My Father. Viking, 2005; 304 pages; $25.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: At the first revelation that her father, a sixtyish university professor, wants to …
May 5, 2005
Florist Face Off
Haruko Crawford says, "I started taking ikebana lessons when I was 13 years old. I'm 80 now." I lean back into my chair, close my eyes, and wonder how I got here, on the telephone …
May 5, 2005
North Park Apostolic Church
The Apostolic Church is probably the only truly orthodox church. We teach the apostles doctrine from the original 12 apostles. We do not follow post-apostolic teachings," said Bishop Joel David Trout. "For example, we are …
May 5, 2005
Instrument of Torture
There it sits, seemingly every week among the movie ads in these pages, an advertisement for myself (to lift a snippet from Norman Mailer), but taken out by somebody else. "Thousands of Duncan Shepherd's Movie …
May 5, 2005
Life Is Full of Consolations
"Make sure you write about her peacefulness," my wife told me as I sat down to my computer. And if there were a one-word description of my mother, peaceful might be it. Irene Pilon, along …
May 5, 2005
Bleach, Hand Cream, and Onions
"I visited your father's grave," my mother said when she last called. "And I gave his headstone a good kick." This is the sort of joke we share, my mother and I. Survivors of an …
May 5, 2005
The Next Jean Harlow?
Betsy was a piece of work. There's a scene in Amadeus: Mozart scribbles strings of notes. Salieri gasps. Mozart feathers in complex tones. "Genius! Perfection!" shouts Salieri. "Oh no," says Mozart. "Now we put in …
May 5, 2005
A New Definition of Shine
My mom has always understood: a mother's duty merely begins when she has children. Linda Bouvier took me to heart from the start — to museums when I was two, to symphonies at three -- …
May 5, 2005
As Thin as Butterfly Wings
My mother was born in the high desert of northeastern Arizona. Even now it's a hard place to thrive, with rain unlikely and resources few. Her father built their house out of adobe bricks he …
May 5, 2005
The Defender
If I had known of such a thing at age 11, I might have told my mother I was having an anxiety attack. As it was, the only way I could communicate to her my …
May 5, 2005
The Class Valedictorian
We were buds, my mom and I -- until I hit puberty and became sullen and hostile -- a team, us against the world, a pretty blonde girl and a redheaded kid, walking among strangers. …
May 5, 2005
What She Called an Overhaul
The mother of my youth was never afraid. She wore splashy polyester pantsuits with a thin self belt. Every weekday at 6:00 p.m. she careened into our carport in Oakland on Penniman Street in her …
May 5, 2005
Sacrifice
"Careful, Ma; don't spill your soup," I warned. "First time you spill, that's it — you're going to the home. I'll know you can't take care of yourself." Mom's reply was immediate. "I know. I've …
May 5, 2005
The Letter Writer
My mother died at the end of October. At her wake, Duyen Pham asked if my mother ever wrote me, back in 1975. That was the year Duyen (13 at the time) and her family …
May 5, 2005
Talent for Joy
All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his. — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest Since differing with Oscar Wilde must constitute literary blasphemy, I regret …
May 5, 2005
Rage to Kill
I think I got my perfect pitch from my mother's side of the family. I got my anger from her side too. I call it the curse of perfect pitch. Or the chip-on-the-shoulder gene. My …
May 5, 2005
True in Love and True in Deed
"A Woman's Place is in the House...and the Senate," read the banner on the door of the cabinet that housed our dinner plates and cereal bowls. Similar posters peppered the kitchen walls: "What if Prince …
May 5, 2005
A Purple Paisley Pea Coat
I don't know quite what to say about my mother. I love her. I talk to her twice a day on the phone. She spent years tending to a pack of feral cats, and now …
May 5, 2005
Speaking Only in Memory
My mother died suddenly and in her sleep — with a peaceful smile on her face, my father said. I was eight when it happened, and I moved around my new life as if in …
May 5, 2005
Strength and Determination
Mom, baptized Margaret Mary Howard, "Peg" to family and friends, was born March 20, 1932, in Fauleighter (pronounced Fall-ay- [clear throat]-ther), County Mayo, Ireland, to John and Margaret Howard, the third of five children. She …
May 5, 2005