Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Back When

Thirty Years Ago Some 15 years ago, I appeared in a San Diego courtroom as witness for Lawrence and Geraldine McGilvery, on trial for selling obscene material, Miller's Tropic of Cancer. Prior to my appearance, the entire book had been read aloud to the jurors, who submitted to a rather ingenious test of their objectivity by the prosecuting attorney, Martin Gutfleisch.

In May of 1975, as restaurant reviewer for the Reader, I received a phone call from a public relations man, who asked me to visit a Mexican restaurant, Si Señor, in La Mesa. I softened when he told me that the restaurant was owned by an attorney, Martin Gutfleisch. Could this be the same man who had taunted and goaded me and done his best to unnerve me in the Tropic trial? -- "ANOTHER MILLER'S TALE," Eleanor Widmer, March 3, 1977

Sponsored
Sponsored

Twenty-Five Years Ago Some places up on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard get hit a lot. Usually places set back from the street a little, and with an alley in back. Robbers love a nice alley where they can hide the car. -- "NOBODY DISTURBS MY PEACE," Joe Applegate, March 4, 1982

Twenty Years Ago The America's Cup has something for everyone: a book contract for Dennis Conner; an Australian junket for San Diego politicians; a million dollars' worth of free publicity for Cup sponsor Home Federal Savings and Loan. And KGTV Channel 10 commentator Michael Tuck may score a five-point Nielsen ratings bonus. Tuck laid into Conner with a February 10 "Perspective" segment that branded the yachtsman as "rude, arrogant, and boorish." The following night, Tuck explained his refusal to apologize for those critical comments. -- THE INSIDE STORY, Paul Krueger, March 5, 1987

Fifteen Years Ago I robbed my first bank out of fear. But once I walked in with my gun, the fear was gone, and I knew who I was. It started in the Encinitas drug scene, where I was a local. Moved out there from the Chicago drug scene after high school. I was fully involved. I'd been buying eightballs and quarter ounces of coke from this loser and going out to La Costa to purchase from this mobster guy I'll call Carlo. And the loser was duffing my shit up, which I wanted stopped. -- "AUNT PUDGE AND THE BANK ROBBER," Richard Mitchell and Linton Robinson, March 5, 1992

Ten Years Ago Anybody who's had a book published and isn't famous and isn't rich and isn't a name known worldwide for supple, exciting prose will know how I feel these days. My book Never Eat Your Heart Out, with its pretty pink cover, started showing up in bookstores in late January. I was excited and happy when Elisabeth Sifton at Farrar, Straus & Giroux called me up 18 months ago and said to my answering machine, "We'd like to make you an offer." I lay on the living room carpet and hugged the dachshund and played Mrs. Sifton's message, again and again. I even rolled a bit on the carpet. I called everybody I knew. I crowed. -- READING: "NEVER EAT YOUR HEART OUT," Judith Moore, February 27, 1997

Five Years Ago Hey, Matt:

Even though I know it is not safe to ingest bleach, I was wondering if pure bleach would harm your teeth. We went straight to the American Dental Association with this one and apparently struck a nerve -- like a collective root canal, I guess. They freaked. The party line: DO NOT PUT BLEACH IN YOUR MOUTH! Their science guys refused to tell us if bleach will whiten your teeth or if it will damage tooth enamel, melt your molars, or anything else. They won't even consider the question because YOU SHOULDN'T PUT BLEACH IN YOUR MOUTH! -- STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP, Matthew Alice, February 28, 2002

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?

Thirty Years Ago Some 15 years ago, I appeared in a San Diego courtroom as witness for Lawrence and Geraldine McGilvery, on trial for selling obscene material, Miller's Tropic of Cancer. Prior to my appearance, the entire book had been read aloud to the jurors, who submitted to a rather ingenious test of their objectivity by the prosecuting attorney, Martin Gutfleisch.

In May of 1975, as restaurant reviewer for the Reader, I received a phone call from a public relations man, who asked me to visit a Mexican restaurant, Si Señor, in La Mesa. I softened when he told me that the restaurant was owned by an attorney, Martin Gutfleisch. Could this be the same man who had taunted and goaded me and done his best to unnerve me in the Tropic trial? -- "ANOTHER MILLER'S TALE," Eleanor Widmer, March 3, 1977

Sponsored
Sponsored

Twenty-Five Years Ago Some places up on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard get hit a lot. Usually places set back from the street a little, and with an alley in back. Robbers love a nice alley where they can hide the car. -- "NOBODY DISTURBS MY PEACE," Joe Applegate, March 4, 1982

Twenty Years Ago The America's Cup has something for everyone: a book contract for Dennis Conner; an Australian junket for San Diego politicians; a million dollars' worth of free publicity for Cup sponsor Home Federal Savings and Loan. And KGTV Channel 10 commentator Michael Tuck may score a five-point Nielsen ratings bonus. Tuck laid into Conner with a February 10 "Perspective" segment that branded the yachtsman as "rude, arrogant, and boorish." The following night, Tuck explained his refusal to apologize for those critical comments. -- THE INSIDE STORY, Paul Krueger, March 5, 1987

Fifteen Years Ago I robbed my first bank out of fear. But once I walked in with my gun, the fear was gone, and I knew who I was. It started in the Encinitas drug scene, where I was a local. Moved out there from the Chicago drug scene after high school. I was fully involved. I'd been buying eightballs and quarter ounces of coke from this loser and going out to La Costa to purchase from this mobster guy I'll call Carlo. And the loser was duffing my shit up, which I wanted stopped. -- "AUNT PUDGE AND THE BANK ROBBER," Richard Mitchell and Linton Robinson, March 5, 1992

Ten Years Ago Anybody who's had a book published and isn't famous and isn't rich and isn't a name known worldwide for supple, exciting prose will know how I feel these days. My book Never Eat Your Heart Out, with its pretty pink cover, started showing up in bookstores in late January. I was excited and happy when Elisabeth Sifton at Farrar, Straus & Giroux called me up 18 months ago and said to my answering machine, "We'd like to make you an offer." I lay on the living room carpet and hugged the dachshund and played Mrs. Sifton's message, again and again. I even rolled a bit on the carpet. I called everybody I knew. I crowed. -- READING: "NEVER EAT YOUR HEART OUT," Judith Moore, February 27, 1997

Five Years Ago Hey, Matt:

Even though I know it is not safe to ingest bleach, I was wondering if pure bleach would harm your teeth. We went straight to the American Dental Association with this one and apparently struck a nerve -- like a collective root canal, I guess. They freaked. The party line: DO NOT PUT BLEACH IN YOUR MOUTH! Their science guys refused to tell us if bleach will whiten your teeth or if it will damage tooth enamel, melt your molars, or anything else. They won't even consider the question because YOU SHOULDN'T PUT BLEACH IN YOUR MOUTH! -- STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP, Matthew Alice, February 28, 2002

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader