Sealed with a Kiss“I think what’s made our marriage work is our ability to change,” says Marge. “When we got married, the priest told us, ‘For the rest of your life, everything you have is …
February 11, 2024
Robert Kumpel wrote news and feature stories for the Reader in the 2000s.
Articles by Robert Kumpel
San Diego lovers tell why they are still together
Downtown San Diego's homeless dream of Thanksgiving away from sidewalks
Homeless plans for Thanksgiving On a warm autumn afternoon, a homeless man lies against a wall on First Avenue just south of Ash Street. He's sharing a bottle of cheap vodka with an older homeless …
November 18, 2023
San Diego guys reflect on their dark skin
I'd never marry a pale girl "I don't really think about skin cancer too much. I'm not really worried about it. I've had a bad sunburn before. I couldn't put any lotion on or anything. …
December 3, 2022
The first Afghan wave, San Diego's true Okies
The Silk Road Ends in San Diego “One of the Russians said, ‘Treat these [Russians] and kill these [Afghans].’ The other doctor said, 'How can I do that?’ The Russian said, 'Like this!’ and he …
February 6, 2022
Van Dam murder divides Sabre Springs, Westerfield's jail inmates
Good Life in Sabre Springs “I think Brenda is amazing. She’s so strong. I asked her, ‘How do you get out of bed?’ She told me, ‘I do it for my boys because they don’t …
January 31, 2022
Judith Moore feels her daughters' pain, Reader writer marries Cynthis Heimel
Lines of Love, Lines of Pain We lived by the hospital. I heard sirens every day. When both girls were with me in the house, I felt a smug assurance when I heard the sirens …
January 30, 2022
Eccentric North Park bungalows, Mexican architecture everywhere in San Diego
Radical, Whole-Wheat Architecture He describes Dryden, who died in 1946, as “flamboyant, quixotic,” and “a personality who ranged from high to low.” He says, “He also describes this scene: “His family said he made and …
December 18, 2021
The hated game warden, the essential weatherman
We’re the New Wardens "A gray fox is a small animal, so usually the trap breaks their leg bones, and the only thing holding them in the trap is the skin that gets pinched between …
November 7, 2021
San Diego actors' worst stories, he guards Volcan Mountain, community college adjunct
Break a Leg In 1993, Hal Holbrook was performing King Lear in the title role. Tom Hall, a San Diego actor, likes to tell the story. Hal came on too soon and started a completely …
October 24, 2021