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Matthew Lickona
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Bob McPhail
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Sheila Pell
Ian Pike
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H.G. Reza
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Liz Swain
Liz Swain
is a
Reader
contributor. See
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for published articles.
Profile
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None
**Summer Camps:** Spring just started, but it's time to start thinking about summer camp. Enrollment opened March 19 for the City's programs for children that include traditional day camp and camps for art, jump rope, woodworking, sports, theater, and kids in the kitchen. Most summer camps meet Monday through Friday. For more information, call Community Services at 619-667-1300 or go to
http://www.cityoflamesa.com/index.aspx?nid=892
.
— March 21, 2013 5:38 p.m.
Lake Murray Reservoir
Thanks for identifying the birds. I thought they looked like vultures, and they kind of looked like turkeys… Now I know. I love that phrase "bird-nerd" and will use it proudly. Shannon's beautiful bird photos are in the Reader's La Mesa Photo Gallery.
— March 21, 2013 3:44 p.m.
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.
None
**$3.99/Gallon Gas:** I just drove past Emerald Oil, the independent gas station at the corner of Baltimore Drive and Lake Murray Boulevard. A sign-waving man alerted me to the $3.99 cost of a gallon of gas. I planned to post about Emerald Oil because you receive a free drink when you spend $40 or more on gas. The last time I filled up, the beverage was bottled water. Sometimes the drink is Gatorade. Another reason I like Emerald Oil is that it's a Reader distribution spot.
— March 18, 2013 11:40 a.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
LBJO: Thanks for the awesome tips! I only know about the free pie at Coco's, but I didn't know about welcome gifts. It will be fun signing up at area restaurants and seeing what arrives in my e-mail. Much of my family lives in San Diego county and there's a birthday almost every month, so that's a great idea to spread out the sign-ups. I also like your idea of a separate e-mail address for commercial offers. Then they don't get lost in the other e-mails.
— March 15, 2013 6:44 p.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
LBJO: That picture is adorable! What's your cat's name? Her posture is exactly like Portia's when the Edco Truck in the neighborhood. Portia also watches birds. The crows are the most noticeable ones because they're so noisy. Last week, about five of them put on a very entertaining air show. I hope to get a picture of it. As for your question, I don't recognize the game show, but there's a very colorful background. Does anyone reading this post know what game show this is?
— March 15, 2013 8:39 a.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
**Entertaining Pets:** I read that windows are to cats what TV is to people: a form of entertainment. One of my cat Portia's favorite window programs is "Edco Truck." Cats have a much better sense of hearing than people do, so Portia knows that the garbage truck is coming before it turns onto our street. She runs to the sliding glass door and stares transfixed as the truck stops at one house and then another. She watches in fascination as barrels are picked up and dumped. When the driver turns right into an apartment parking lot, she waits patiently. She knows the show doesn't end until the truck returns to the street and enters our lot. What entertains your pet? My sister Barbara's family had a white cockatiel named Pancho who sang and danced to music on the radio. He moved up and down, whistled, and really rocked to KGB. Is there part of a walk at Lake Murray that delights your dog, or does Fido just enjoy sitting with you in the patio of a restaurant like the Lake Murray Café?
— March 13, 2013 12:20 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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Eva Knott
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Ken Leighton
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**Summer Camps:** Spring just started, but it's time to start thinking about summer camp. Enrollment opened March 19 for the City's programs for children that include traditional day camp and camps for art, jump rope, woodworking, sports, theater, and kids in the kitchen. Most summer camps meet Monday through Friday. For more information, call Community Services at 619-667-1300 or go to http://www.cityoflamesa.com/index.aspx?nid=892.— March 21, 2013 5:38 p.m.
Lake Murray Reservoir
Thanks for identifying the birds. I thought they looked like vultures, and they kind of looked like turkeys… Now I know. I love that phrase "bird-nerd" and will use it proudly. Shannon's beautiful bird photos are in the Reader's La Mesa Photo Gallery.— March 21, 2013 3:44 p.m.
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.
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**$3.99/Gallon Gas:** I just drove past Emerald Oil, the independent gas station at the corner of Baltimore Drive and Lake Murray Boulevard. A sign-waving man alerted me to the $3.99 cost of a gallon of gas. I planned to post about Emerald Oil because you receive a free drink when you spend $40 or more on gas. The last time I filled up, the beverage was bottled water. Sometimes the drink is Gatorade. Another reason I like Emerald Oil is that it's a Reader distribution spot.— March 18, 2013 11:40 a.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
LBJO: Thanks for the awesome tips! I only know about the free pie at Coco's, but I didn't know about welcome gifts. It will be fun signing up at area restaurants and seeing what arrives in my e-mail. Much of my family lives in San Diego county and there's a birthday almost every month, so that's a great idea to spread out the sign-ups. I also like your idea of a separate e-mail address for commercial offers. Then they don't get lost in the other e-mails.— March 15, 2013 6:44 p.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
LBJO: That picture is adorable! What's your cat's name? Her posture is exactly like Portia's when the Edco Truck in the neighborhood. Portia also watches birds. The crows are the most noticeable ones because they're so noisy. Last week, about five of them put on a very entertaining air show. I hope to get a picture of it. As for your question, I don't recognize the game show, but there's a very colorful background. Does anyone reading this post know what game show this is?— March 15, 2013 8:39 a.m.
neighborhoods/la-mesa -- La Mesa
**Entertaining Pets:** I read that windows are to cats what TV is to people: a form of entertainment. One of my cat Portia's favorite window programs is "Edco Truck." Cats have a much better sense of hearing than people do, so Portia knows that the garbage truck is coming before it turns onto our street. She runs to the sliding glass door and stares transfixed as the truck stops at one house and then another. She watches in fascination as barrels are picked up and dumped. When the driver turns right into an apartment parking lot, she waits patiently. She knows the show doesn't end until the truck returns to the street and enters our lot. What entertains your pet? My sister Barbara's family had a white cockatiel named Pancho who sang and danced to music on the radio. He moved up and down, whistled, and really rocked to KGB. Is there part of a walk at Lake Murray that delights your dog, or does Fido just enjoy sitting with you in the patio of a restaurant like the Lake Murray Café?— March 13, 2013 12:20 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.