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Liz Swain

Liz Swain is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Lake Murray Reservoir

**Lake Birds:** Lake Murray is a popular spot for birds and the people who watch and/or photograph them. Lake birds are popular subjects in the pictures displayed in the Reader's La Mesa Photo Gallery: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/la…. There's even a website devoted to the area avians: "Bird Friends Of Lake Murray & San Diego County." http://www.bird-friends.com. Creator Scott Streit wrote that the site "started with just a few birds photographed at Lake Murray and now consists of over 300 species that can be found throughout San Diego county." I didn't have my camera when I encountered a white chicken walking near the water several years ago. I spotted the free-range bird just past the 0-mile marker, and never saw her again. On a recent walk, I photographed these birds. I don't know what they are. Do you? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/2…
— March 21, 2013 1:56 p.m.

neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa

Birthday Dinners: Celebrating birthdays with a restaurant dinner is a tradition in my family. We frequently dined in La Mesa and have done it for so long that my now-adult nephew Dustin remembers stepping on the scale at Claim Jumper because the restaurant charged a per-pound price for children's meals. "Some of the meals weighed as much as you did," said his dad, Chip, a reference to the generous Claim Jumper servings. My brother Rich remembered a fruit bowl. "There were apples for all," he said. Dustin recalled, "You’d get rootbeer barrels [candy] when you left." Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour also stood out for Dustin for "it's atmosphere. It was kid-friendly, lively. Their meals were kid-friendly, too," he said. His brother Jeremy found the Farrell's experience "traumatic" because of noise that included siren sounds. Chip pointed out that they ate at the Farrell's in Mira Mesa. He remembered the now-closed Farrell's on Jackson Dive. So did Adam, a friend of the nephews who is in his early 30s. He was "under 10" when he went to Farrell's. "There were lots of big parties with big buckets of ice cream," he said. That led me to remember that the menu included the Mount Helix, a huge tower of ice cream. This was a shared dessert, not a single serving. My nephew Kyle wasn't sure what he'd recall. "I jumped in our car, and [then] we're at a restaurant," he said. I remember much about one birthday dinner. Kyle turned 6 on October 3, 1995, a date you may recognize. He wore a crown when we went to Sally's, a family-style restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. We sat in a back room that I called the "private dining room" because we had it all to ourselves. Dustin thought Kyle's crown came from Burger King. "You got a crown with the kids meals," he said.Kyle and Barbara confirmed what I remembered. Kyle was crowned at school, which was how his teacher honored birthday students. I told Kyle the significance of his 1995 birthday. Inside the private dining room and in many other rooms, people discussed something announced that morning: The O.J. Simpson verdict ( http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns053.…). "I was alive for that?" Kyle asked.Although he was too young to remember the "Trial of the Century," Kyle recalled the special treatment received during birthday dinners. "I remember people doing cool stuff. They'd bring a huge sundae, and they call me the 'birthday boy' [throughout the meal.] If anything, they went the extra mile," he said. Where in La Mesa do you celebrate your birthday? What are your memories of dining out in La Mesa?
— March 12, 2013 8:24 p.m.

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