September 21, 2018

Summer will change to Fall tomorrow at 6:54 PM, about the time some of you will be cleaning up your tailgate parties at SDCCU to watch the Aztecs play Eastern Michigan.  I'll be in the Barcalounger ready to watch the Padres

Not ANOTHER Jewish Holy Day!!  This is exhausting.  Apparently Yom Kippur begins Tuesday evening.  Bari Weiss says "It's a 25-hour caffeine headache capped off by a lox-and-bagels binge."  Obviously there's a lot more going on.  Click HERE to read her opinion piece in the New York Times.

Paula Kincaid has sent me some cartoons of a religious bent.  I didn't get into trouble last week venturing into politics, so I might as well take it up a notch.  The cartoon above apparently is what would happen today if Jesus tried converting loaves to fishes.

This whole #MeToo movement has got me  a little nervous.  I did a spit-take with my morning coffee when I saw the above headline in Wednesday's U-T.  To paraphrase Woody Allen in Play It Again Sam, "I was nowhere NEAR the zoo".

It's time to resume posting the Golden Anniversary Pacers, this time for the Class of '69.  Click HERE to read the September 19, 1968 4-page issue.   

Marc Pomeranz '74 passed away May 12, 2018.  I learned this after the post office returned his alumni newsletter with a "no forwarding address" stamp, and I did a little on-line research.  I think Marc was living in what I assume was the old family residence on Redding St.

Carolyn Schneider Reyes ’78 died on August 17, 2018.  She loved crafting, baking, doing puzzles, bowling, traveling, including trips with her parents in their Airstream trailer, and bringing laughter and joy to others. Carolyn married Ken B. Reyes on March 10, 1984 in San Diego and had one daughter, Kara Lynne in April of 1990.  She is survived by, among others, her parents , husband Ken and sister Linda Schneider Crawford ’75.

September 14, 2018

  

How was your Rosh Hashanah?  Mine was hilarious.  I lost count of the number of folks who gently tried to explain the difference between blowing a chauffeur and a shofar (Ram's horn).  I won't reveal the name of the lovely lady who said "Either one works for me."

Have you seen the Liberty Mutual Accident Forgiveness ads on television?   Like a growing number of advertisements, they are humorous -- which is a good thing.  I got a laugh when I finally noticed the fine print below (you won't be able to read it) noting the fact that it wasn't available in California.

Ernie Cowen '62, who's starting to read a little like Ernest Hemingway, shares his steak drippings with a Gray Fox in his most recent Outdoors Column.  Click HERE if you'd like the juicy details.

Here's a new one.  A high school football referee has sued the San Diego Unified School District and a teenage Crawford High graduate, claiming $1 million in damages for injuries that he says the former student caused him during a game three years ago.  Click HERE to read the article in the Los Angeles Times.

I was at the San Diego Auto Swap Meet on Memorial Day at Qualcomm and found this Colts aluminum plaque. I had a translator help me speak to the guy and -- as the story goes -- he was renting a house and he found this in the garage. When we asked him where the house was or the address he said no more.  Anyway I purchased it for a dollar.  I recall making things in metal shop but I don’t recall this.  It’s 5 1/2” by 8 1/2”  -- Earl Asbury ‘64

Have you seen those bumper stickers for folks who run the marathon?

How about the ones for people who do the half-marathon?

They now have one customized for the rest of us.

Tom Van Doren '66 passed away September 8, 2018.  His classmate Don Levine remembered that Tom worked as a commercial fisherman in the south Pacific for eleven years until he was cut by a cable and got gangrene in his leg.  On a small air strip atoll the doctor wanted to amputate, but Tom wouldn't let them. He made it back to Hawaii, got care and kept his leg. He surfed his whole life, had a great smooth style. Loved his Baja surf trips. Tom was married for a while to Lynn Ballard.

September 7, 2018

It's time to Blow the Chauffeur (I think I got that right).  Gosh, has it been sixty years since I told my classmates at Horace Mann that I wouldn't be in school the next day because of the Jewish holidays?  Be careful what you wish for.  I tripped on a garden hose, broke my arm, and didn't go to school the next day.  I've always felt that should get me part way to Honorary Hebrew.

Speaking of the Jewish Holidays, who's hungry for Matzo Balls and Chiles?  Click HERE to read the recipe in the New York Times.

The folks running the Class of '63 Reunion (to which the Classes of '62 and '64 are invited) need to hear from you NOW!!  Click HERE for all the information you'll require.

What have YOU accomplished lately?  Did you ever get around to cleaning out the garage?  Four years ago Sharon Culver Considine shared a photo of herself, an Ernie Wright statue, and Eugene Yang and Said Shaba at Colina del Sol.  Click HERE to get an update on what the boys did with the scholarships Sharon's group awarded them at that time.

I'm very reluctant to get into politics, but sometimes I can't help myself.  Last week the head of the California Democratic Party called for a boycott of In-N-Out Burger after learning that the company had donated $25,000 to the state's Republican Party.  Turns out a lot of Democrats thought that party loyalty only went so far.  The boycott was called off a day or so later.  Click HERE to read the story in the Los Angeles Times.

If anyone can figure out how much a flu shot costs at CVS let me know.

Here's a Henry Bliss comic published this past week.

Alan Cahan died on July 14, 2018.  He went in the Navy after high school and stayed for 20 years. 

Eric Selten '64 relays word from Tom Rubin '66 that his brother Dennis Rubin '63 died peacefully in his sleep on September 1, 2018.  Tom will send more details at a later date.

Denise Felix '66 passed away June 15, 2018.   She was born in San Diego on August 17, 1948.

August 31, 2018

Who knew there was a Will C. Crawford High School in El Centro?  Turned out I misread the article on the wife of newly-disgraced Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr.   It noted that she attended Will C. Crawford High School in El Cerrito.  I still think of it as East San Diego.  Click HERE to read the piece, in which Duncan Hunter throws his wife Margaret Jankowski Hunter under the bus.  I think Margaret is a 1993 graduate.

A much more upbeat article appeared in Wednesday's Union-Tribune.  It's about Deka Ismail, daughter of Somali immigrants, who graduated from Crawford last year.   She'll be attending UCSD in the fall, which -- I think -- is pretty soon.  Click HERE to read the piece.

Speaking of Fall, in his latest Outdoors column Ernie Cowan '62 notes that it's tarantula mating season, so watch where you step.  The mating session, Ernie points out, often ends with the female killing the male.  Kind of harsh.  You would hope she'd just take the family home, settle for a monthly alimony check, and let the poor guy go on his way.  Click HERE to read Ernie's article.

Where DOES the time go?  I expect it seems like yesterday when Jeannine Berger Passenheim '60 was going through her student handbook.  Turns out it was 60 years ago.  Click HERE to read all 40 pages.

I recently posted on YouTube a 3 1/2 minute film I made on May 11, 1969.  It was Mother's Day and my Mom was putting her Mom on the Santa Fe streamliner.  Wish I could recall where grandma was going.  Most likely to Lewistown, Montana where she grew up and still had lots of relatives.  Click HERE to take a look.

Have you seen the Geico commercials in which Alexander Graham Bell's phone goes off in the middle of a play, interrupting the actors?  "No, no -- my number's 1," he says, "you must want 2".  Click HERE to watch it for yourself.

August 24, 2018

School starts on Monday at Crawford, but the first football game will be played tonight -- and most of the other schools in the county started last week.   Crawford is picked to finish second in the Central League this year.  Maranatha Christian will play at Crawford tonight at 7 PM.

On Tuesday a man led police on an hour-long chase that went through San Diego, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Rancho San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, and Otay Mesa.  Must not have been in that order, because he came to a halt after hitting spike strips while exiting northbound I-5 at Balboa.  I mention this only because the man reached speeds in excess of 100 mph -- IN A FORD FIESTA!!

You know how I love unusual obituaries.  Don Cherry died April 4 at age 94, but his passing is just now being noted.  He was good enough at golf to play in the Masters.  He sang well enough to have a hit single, Band of Gold.  His first wife was Sharon Kay Ritchie, Miss America of 1956.  I've saved the best for last.  He earned over $800,000 as the voice of television's Mr. Clean.  Click HERE to read the whole obituary and listen to Band of Gold as well as a video of him singing with Bing Crosby and Dean Martin.

You know you're getting old when they're tearing down schools that you remember being built.  I previously mentioned the destruction of the 1977 version of Hoover High.  The artist's rendering of the new school (above) is wonderfully reminiscent of the original 1930 building.  Turns out they're also dozing Wilson Middle School.  The original brick structure was built in 1924 and torn down in 1964.  The new school, seen below in a drawing, looks pretty snazzy.  I always thought the schools built in the '60s and '70s looked like minimum-security prisons, which -- come to think of it -- they were.

I'm not sure who Elizabeth Wood is, but she's put together a lovely collage of old matchbook covers (and a few images from my web site).   Click HERE to check it out on Facebook.

My favorite cartoon artists are on fire this week.  You would have had to have seen Thelma and Louise to appreciate that last one.

Rod Miller ’69 died July 25, 2018 of ALS.  He was retired from the City of San Diego.  He is survived by, among others, sisters Pam Miller ’71 and Jody Miller Tobias ’74

August 17, 2018

This Bliss cartoon from last week tickled my funny bone.

Here's a color-corrected screen shot taken from the 3-1/2 minute film I took of the Spanish training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano arriving on April 12, 1969 to take part in the Spanish Week portion of San Diego's 200th Anniversary Celebration.  Sadly, I don't know how to color-correct a movie, so you'll find it has started to turn purple.  Click HERE if you'd like to watch it anyhow.  It has some nice views of the USS Bunker Hill, the WWII carrier that ended its life parked at North Island as an electronics test platform.

I'm not sure who Gary Schacker is but he posted this photo of Dow Stereo, circa 1980, on Facebook last week and Gary Mitrovich brought it to my attention.  The business stood at 4404 El Cajon Blvd.  Click HERE to see what's there now.

Paula Kincaid thinks the Deja Vu Gentlemen's Club used to be the Cotton Patch.  Quite possible, because The Paradise Lounge and Grill next door was the original Boll Weevil.  Steve Weston thought Deja Vu looked familiar -- almost as if he'd been there before.

August 10, 2018

I'm not sure I even get this Bizarro cartoon, but I love all references to Etch-A-Sketch

I was sitting in the car at the Midway Post Office and noticed flags waving in a reflection off the front door.  When Nancy came out I mentioned it and she peered into the distance.  "Maybe it's a recruiting station," she said.  Close enough.  Turned out to be Deja Vu Showgirls "Gentlemen's Club".  

The Los Angeles Times this week featured an article on unusual school mascots.  I've always loved the Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, whose motto is No Known Predators.  I came close to a spit-take when I read that the Compton High School mascot is the Tar-Babe.  Yikes.  My mind went back to Uncle Remus and the Tar Baby.   Long ago the school mascot was a Lion, and was changed to Tartars, then Baby Tartars, then Tar-Babes.  Click HERE to read the article. (I did the Compton research on my own)

Was it only last week that I was chiding Canterbury Gardens for putting their Halloween inventory out?  Yesterday they -- oh, wait -- it's a "Making Room for Christmas Sale."   Never mind.

The Crown City ferry boat ride brought back memories for a lot of folks.  Carole Smithson and Bob Richardson took the ferry to the 1961 Senior Prom.  They chose to take the Silver Strand on the way home.  The above photo was taken by Bob's father at the Richardson home.  The couple married in 1964.  Sadly, Carole passed away in 2001.   Judy Schwartz Sheinbein '69 shares the photo below of  little brother Larry, father Jerry and herself.

Tom Cassie noticed in the distance, on one of the new Esquire Motors photos, two names.  Says Tom, "One is Dean Flesner, whose son Dave graduated from Crawford in ‘60.  Dave played three sports at Crawford and was a 3-year letterman in baseball at SDSU.   John Lovett had a son who I played Pony League with me at Sunset Pony League.  I believe he went on to graduate from Hoover."

Here's the KDEO "Fabulous 40" from August 9, 1963 -- 55 years ago.  Click HERE for a version you may be able to read.

Diane Strum '66 sends word of the passing of her friend and classmate Laural Johnson Grabowsky.  Laural (I know it says Laurel in the yearbook) died on May 26 of ALS.  Her husband Kip was at her side.  You can read more on the Class of 1966 Obituary Page.