November 24, 2016

It's Not Fry Day -- It's Turkey Day!!

Ernie Cowan '62 took this photo of Wild Turkeys in the San Diego back country.  It accompanied an article he wrote in the Union-Tribune.  Click HERE to check it out.

Tomorrow is Black Friday, which -- for folks who love to shop -- is a quite the deal.  It always conjures up images to me of the Bubonic Plague, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, or Black Flag insecticide.  That's what happens when you get old.

And another thing.  When did the Republicans become Red and the Democrats Blue?  Growing up in the '50s red was associated with Communism.  It was "Better Dead Than Red" and "You Commie Pinko".   Somebody changed the rules when I wasn't looking.  That's what happens when you get old.

As God is my witness I saw a commercial last night selling a product that cures your dog's bad breath.  It showed all of the other dogs avoiding the poor pooch.  Funny, it didn't show the part where they all sniff each other's butts.  

What do Garth Brooks and Bob Brown '67 have in common?  Ron is the proud possessor of a Garth Brooks guitar, autographed on stage during a recent concert.  Garth thanked Ron for his 40 years as an employee of the Sports Arena.  You can watch the presentation on YouTube.

Click HERE to check out the football program for November 24, 1960.  This was a Thanksgiving Day game between Crawford and Sweetwater put together at the last minute as a benefit for Jeff Greenleaf '62 who was paralyzed during a football scrimmage on September 28th.

The KCBQ Top 20 Survey for November 24, 1956 -- Holy Crap, that's SIXTY YEARS AGO!  -- ranged from Elvis Presley to Margaret Whiting.  Click HERE to take a look.

When Karen Conley Brockman '72 read, in the Fry Day email of October 20th, that Sharon Sklar Smith '75 had relocated to a spot near her on Whidbey Island, Washington she reached out to the fellow Colt.  They met for lunch, and included Sharon's sister-in-law Pattie Pepper Smith '68.  That's Karen, Pattie and Sharon in the photo above.

Air Force map-maker Joe Falcone sent in his service photo, as did some others.  Click HERE to check out the updated page.

Ron Roche '70 passed away November 16th in Spokane, Washington.  If you live in the area, a Celebration of Life will be held for Ron on December 5th, 4-8 PM at St. Joseph's Parish Hall, 138 River St., Rockford, WA 99030.  Click HERE to read an obituary and/or send Condolences.

November 18, 2016

I LOVE the Desert Island cartoon genre.

What do Bill Walton and Nathan East have in common?  Apparently they both have fond memories of the Sports Arena, which is celebrating its 50th Birthday.  The basketball legend and world-famous musician are both quoted in an article in last week's Union-Tribune.  Walton went to Helix and Nathan East is a Colt from the Class of '73.  Click HERE to wade through pop-up ads and a slide show and read, in bits and pieces, the article.

Ahoy sailor!!  A bearded John McMullen '63 responded to my request for photos of Colts who have served in the military.  Click HERE to read John's story and see who else responded.

Nancy's daughter Lisa was in the house at the most-recent First Thursday Colt gathering at The Amigo Spot.  Jan Bremner Hall '66 got her picture taken.

Crawford played El Capitan on August 17, 1961 at Aztec Bowl.  I believe they were victorious in this the final game of what was an undefeated season.  Click HERE to look at the lineups.

Mary Gale Rogers '67 shares a photo of Mission Valley taken by her mother in 1944.  Click HERE to view a much larger version, and links to other photos of Mission Valley on my web site.

Rick Gross '64 passed away in 2013.  His family and/or friends submitted a lovely obituary, published in the Union-Tribune this week on what would have been his 70th birthday.  Click HERE to read the obituary and to learn why August 1, 1960 was such a special day in his life.  You can also leave a condolence.

David Erickson '65 passed away October 11, 2016.  He is survived by his wife -- and classmate -- Rose Marie Nauenberg.

November 11, 2016

I'll be thinking today about all of you who served your country, especially those sporting hangovers from last night's Marine Corps birthday celebration.  If you have photos of yourself in uniform I'd be glad to post them.  I've included below a portrait I had taken in 1946 while on liberty in Long Beach.  

The Aerial Photo Corollary to Murphy's Law is, "If you find an aerial photo of your old neighborhood, the edge of the photo will end with your house out of the picture."  Not true in the case of some aerials posted this week on Greg May's Vintage San Diego Facebook page.  The apartment I lived in from 1967 to 1970 is right down front in the photo above.  Click HERE to look at some enlargements.

The good news is that last Friday's football game was not Coach Wright's last game.  I misread an an email sent to me earlier.  The bad news is that the last game of the season was a 35-0 loss to University City.  Next year will be better.

The football program for the Crawford vs St. Augustine game on November 13, 1959 only cost a dime.  Click HERE to read it for free.

The Golden Anniversary Pacer is the issue from November 10, 1966.  Click HERE to read all six pages.  Scott Shaw!, who may or may not have legally added an exclamation point to his name, has enjoyed the last few Pacers from the 1966-1967 school year, partly because they feature some of his early work as a cartoonist.  Actually Scott! says he drew some cartoons while at Horace Mann and today is still in the business.  You can check him out on Facebook.

November 4, 2016

It's gonna get dark real early starting Sunday, but at least it will be light when I go out in the morning to get my paper.  And I get to try to re-set my digital clocks by going forward 23 hours.

I was really looking forward to the end of the political ads on TV until I noticed a trickle of Christmas ads on the first day of November that will soon turn into a torrent.

If you thought the driver-less car was incredible, you won't believe the TV ad I saw for the latest in snobby razors -- the R89 Grande Safety Razor by Mühle of Germany.  Apparently you twist the handle, insert a double-edged razor blade, twist the handle back and get ready to shave.  They also make chrome-handled shaving brushes.  There's a deja vu quality about all of this.  Did I mention it's $75.00?   I'll stick with the bag of cheap plastic razors I buy at CVS. 

I hope you can read the caption on this Bizarro cartoon from last week.

More than a few folks thought my 1946 Halloween outfit looked like a Klansman in training.  That made me think about the white poncho giveaway at the Chicago White Sox baseball game played in Anaheim on July 3, 2014.  When folks pulled up their hoodies it looked like a Klan rally.

The Colts fell to Kearny 19-7 last Friday.  Today's 6:30 game against University City will be the last for Coach Michael Wright.  Meanwhile, down El Cajon Blvd, Coach Jimmy Morgans' Hoover team has been outscored this season 405-0.  The article in the Union-Tribune was upbeat actually -- focusing on three Cardinal players who hail from Myanmar.  Click HERE if you'd like to read the article.

Click HERE to read the program from the Crawford vs San Diego Homecoming Game played on November 3, 1961.

Click HERE to read both the front AND the back pages of the Mighty 690 Top 40 list for November 7, 1958.  "It's Only Make Believe," by Conway Twitty topped the charts.