He loves the people no one wants"I'm used to voices downtown, of agony and pain and just dysfunction, and I had the window down a little so I could hear. I look and there's a …
October 2, 2023
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Stories by Deirdre Lickona
David Ross – knew San Diego homeless intimately
Tom Deméré takes us to Mission Valley of 50 million years ago
More or less sudden mountainsThe rocks in and around San Diego have composed amazing, fiery stories for a very long time. An ancient ocean once covered this county; volcanoes used to spew here; and more …
October 1, 2023
The most important woman
The woman we never forgetBy Abe Opincar, Amy Gerstler, Barbarella Fokos, Deirdre Lickona, Ernie Grimm, Geoff Bouvier, Jeannette DeWyze, Jeff Smith, Jennifer Ball, Jim Morris, Laura McNeal, Mary Grimm, Matthew Lickona, Patrick Daugherty, RF Jurjevics, …
September 30, 2023
Author of the novel that shook Mission Hills
Oakley Hll explains The Corpus of Joe Bailey In San Diego, Corpus of Joe Bailey also made a noteworthy entrance. The book was denounced from San Diego pulpits for being too sexy and provoked Mission …
August 6, 2023
Walled Mexican garden, undersea succulents
The pillars of the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas are science, conservation, and education, but the things that make it wonderful to me are passion, beauty, and curation. A recent visit on a 90° …
October 5, 2022
2022 Summer Fun Issue
The other night at dinner, the Young People asked the Old People, “How do you know when you’re an adult?” Your humble Editor’s answer: “When you realize that life is no longer play that gets …
Poverty in the unemployment line and the trailer park, tricked by San Diego panhandlers
The Skin of Their Teeth Where are the best food bargains in downtown San Diego? Five-pound packages of nonfat milk powder can be purchased at the S and F store located at 15th and G …
June 13, 2021
Would-be feminists on sand in PB, why the Yukon is dangerous, great white sharks lurk nearby
Pretty Woman Ann, 21, who filled out her bikini in a perfectly proportionate manner, said she was satisfied with her figure. She listened serenely as I spoke with her friends, but her voice boomed with …
March 14, 2021
Why San Diegans dress the way they do
Men's Summer Swimsuit Issue “Now, you ask me, the male physicality wasn't built for aesthetics. Those angles and edges, the purely functional proportions: men's bods are too utilitarian, at least for my taste. (I prefer …
April 26, 2020
Mission Hills – don't be fooled
Book-lovers chew the fat at the Mission Hills Library His watch tells him 6:45. This Mission Hills branch stays open tonight — it’s Monday. He slaps the book closed, reshelves it, glances to his left. …
December 30, 2019
Make holiday friends of enemies
This year, the Lickona family is keeping to its Christmas traditions at home: the ancient carols, the crèche, the Christmas lights wrapped around the cactus in the front yard, the works. But also this year, …
December 6, 2017
The best part about being a bookstore owner
Name: JUSTINE EPSTEIN Age: 31 Occupation: OWNER, VERBATIM BOOKS Neighborhood: SHERMAN HEIGHTS Where interviewed:: VERBATIM BOOKS What are you reading? “Some Ross MacDonald short stories about the private eye Lew Archer. They’re kind of noirish. …
August 2, 2017
San Diego Reader 2017 Fun issue
Climb the California Tower in Balboa Park Balboa Park’s California Tower at the San Diego Museum of Man was closed to the public in 1935, but after extensive construction and safety renovations it reopened for …
June 21, 2017
San Diego Reader 2016 guide to Holiday Fun
I read somewhere that the reason you’re sad around Christmastime is because it’s a reminder of what you’ve lost since childhood: the belief that the world is a magical place that is interested in your …
November 30, 2016
Beyond selfie curation
I’m always amazed at those tablet commercials that show children creating wonderful art on their digital devices. If my kids get near a glowing screen, it doesn’t matter what apps are available; they instantly switch …
February 3, 2016
San Diego Reader 2015 Fun issue
Urban Adventures Beach Town Suburban Ocean & Bay Backcountry Mexico
June 10, 2015
23 Reader writers describe the regime of editor Judith Moore
Busy Fingers Are Happy Fingers — Joe Deegan Mother Reader — Barbarella Build Your Writing Muscles — Ollie Let the Tape Recorder Do the Work — Matthew Lickona Faith — Abe Opincar Make Something Better …
August 16, 2007
She Knew How Fragile Writers Could Be
I used to send Judith gifts around Mother's Day. Not on, but around -- because she wasn't my mother. But among her many titles -- mentor, boss, friend -- there was also this: the mysterious …
August 16, 2007
France Meets California
"Old school vs. new school, Bob Hope vs. Adam Sandler, dirt vs. fruit."
Reader writers tell of great wedding moments and minor disasters
At Times It Was Like Shared Music, at Times Like a Skin Graft or Root Canal — Stephen Dobyns I do at a coffin sale — Dorothy Stewart A Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cake …
June 1, 2006
Loops Like Pillows
"Never say never," I thought to myself as I slid into my wedding dress in early May of '96. It wasn't that I had once supposed I would never get married. I was 25, in …
June 1, 2006
22 Reader writers on school experiences
My first day in school was really my second day — Jangchup Phelygal The Radiators That Ticked Heat into the Room — Laura Rhoton McNeal Rear Rank Rudy — Jim Morris Forget-me-nots — Rosa Colwin …
September 8, 2005
I Wanted to Crawl into My Mittens
I don't remember much from my childhood. Why this is, I don't know. I was happy; I remember that much. I came from an intact, loving, financially stable home. But when I go poking around …
September 8, 2005
We Carried Each Other
In 1991, God seized my attention. So did Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and U2. I was 20, a freshman in college, raised Catholic but without much understanding or interest in practicing my faith. I had plenty …
August 11, 2005
A San Diego survey of mustaches
Mustache also mous-tache (m s-tash, m -stash) noun 1. The hair growing on the human upper lip, especially when cultivated and groomed. 2. Something similar to the cultivated, groomed hair on the human upper lip, …
June 16, 2005
Reader writers honor Mom
"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
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
San Diego Christmas shoppers caught in the act
We used to decorate the outside of our house, but not anymore. We put a bow in front of our gate and we put lights up, that's about it. I always wanted the moving reindeer, but no.
December 23, 2004
Neighborhood: small towns of San Diego
I see Asian gang cars some nights, in a long caravan down the Mira Mesa Boulevard. They meet at In-N-Out Burger before heading off for illegal street races on Kearny Villa Road or in Sorrento Valley.
December 24, 2003
Mission Hills
As State Street crosses Laurel heading north, its name changes suddenly to Reynard, and a little blue street sign welcomes you to Mission Hills. Don’t be fooled. This is Baja Mission Hills, like Kensington too …
December 24, 2003
San Diego women on their breasts and their bras
But even if they were not big, they seemed to me very real and salient: there’s a breast. It was hard to imagine my flat front being sculpted into such fullness
April 24, 2003
Pretty Woman
As it happened, only one of the 17 women I spoke with declared herself a feminist with any kind of conviction. Most said they were not, usually citing a lack of political drive.
August 9, 2001
Gene Dente of Serengeti Company tells me all about diamonds
I swallowed the lump in my throat as my eyes peered upward. Surveying the Jewelry Exchange, on the corner of Sixth and E downtown, I felt small and insignificant. I gazed up at the eight-story …
June 7, 2001
Panhandled at the Sav-on drugstore near Mission Valley
I saw Clyde outside the building. “We wanted to tell you the truth. We were just ashamed to admit we had lost our son. It’s hard to explain. We lost him over a stupid plate of enchiladas.”
February 1, 2001
The Hootchie Look
A steady hum and bustle flowed in and out of Star Shots Photography Studio in Mission Valley Center. Teenage girls strolled in and out in twos and threes, sometimes chatting, other times giggling with arms …
September 14, 2000
29 Reader writers on their fathers
To commemorate Father's Day, this issue contains a collection of reflections from Reader writers about their fathers: The Last Tag Sale — Jeanne Schinto An Air of Exoticism — Duncan Shepherd Kinder Than I Would …
June 15, 2000
By No Means Mr. Mom
Wolf’s Breath Chili. That’s what I’m making for you, Deeda my pigeon sweeta.” The words whistled out from beneath the chip in my father’s front tooth. He danced around the kitchen and executed a combination …
June 15, 2000
Body Memos
My right ear has been mutilated by my own hand.Once,it had three holes in it,starting at the lower end of my lobe and work- ing up in succession.The first came by way of a piercing …
March 16, 2000