July 6, 2023

Oceanside

By Friedrich Gomez

San Diego County is not shy when it comes to manifesting real-life riddles and mysteries and a most colourful hidden history.

SAN DIEGO’S PIONEER PARK NURSES A MOST INCREDIBLE SECRET.

Our first home-grown San Diego County revelation dwells in the category of “Fact Is Often Stranger

Than Fiction.” Which is another way of saying: You don’t have to make things up in order to entertain, edify, or shock people!

San Diego’s popular Pioneer Park is a perfect example of what we’re talking about.

VISITORS ARE SECRETLY WALKING ON TOP OF DEAD BODIES & TOMBSTONES

BENEATH THEM!

Yes, I know – it sounds like another

hyped, fictionalised, conspiracy theory for The National Enquirer, alongside such sensationalised topics as the Bermuda Triangle, Big Foot, and séances which purportedly communicate with the Afterlife.

On any given day at San Diego’s popular Pioneer Park, you may catch glimpses of happy families strolling about the verdant grounds, often enjoying picnics, kids frolicking and laughing, and adults engaging in tossing Frisbees about.

The park is described as “Dog Friendly” and “Kid Friendly,” and the beautiful green lawns have been the site of summer concerts and a plethora of other community events and activities.

However, many people are still often shocked to learn that beneath those picnic baskets and strolling Nike tennis shoes, beach sandals, and the dancing feet from popular bands, there also lies – beneath those celebratory feet and soles – count-

Secrets from page 1

less graves of dead people with epitaphs from the era of America’s Olde West (1865-1900).

“I was shocked to learn this! I’m speechless!” was the response of one park visitor.

“It’s amazing! Unbelievably fascinating, to be honest,” said another, smiling but with furled eyebrows which seemed to signal both astonishment and disbelief, all rolled into one facial expression.

The healthy common denominator is that many visitors were surprised, but, undaunted about continuing their visitations at the park, located at 1521 Washington Place, San Diego, CA 92103.

Were people surprised? Yes. Are they deterred? Not on your life (no pun intended).

Despite becoming aware of the park’s grisly hidden past from our American Old West, visitor consensus was: Doesn’t matter! We love it here!

SUBTERRANEAN CEMETERY WITH HIDDEN GRAVES & FORGOTTEN TOMBSTONES BENEATH YOUR FEET!

For most everyone, graveyards and cemeteries are a fact of life (or death, in a manner of speaking). A MOST FASCINATING UNDISCOVERED HISTORY.

Give Us This Day our Daily Chuckle

First known as a Catholic Cemetery, the site also came to be known by other early names, such as Calvary Cemetery, and also Pioneer Cemetery.

In more contemporary times, it eventually would morph into the more congenial and family- friendly name of Pioneer Park (aka Mission Hills Park) to countless visitors today.

“LEFT BEHIND.”

As a Catholic Church cemetery, and pioneer cemetery, for the better part of a century (since the 1870s) it has been estimated that up to 4,000 to 5,000 bodies are still buried below the lush green grass today.

A fact still unknown to countless families who frolic above ground.

In 1977, a hundred years later, the City of San Diego officially changed the erstwhile cemetery into its beautiful recreational form of Pioneer Park.

However, in its endeavours to transform the park from its grisly past, the City of San Diego had only managed to remove approximately 800-plus gravestones (according to City records) and dumped them into a ravine or canyon ditch adjacent to Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Unlike the comparatively small number of 800 displaced and discarded tombstones, thousands of dead bodies with tombstones were

And when it’s o’er when you’ve had your tinkle

I trudge back to bed with one more wrinkle

An aged man I’ve become I’ll say no more, I shall be mum

Oh, little bladder, you can be mean actions of yours are readily seen

To be full of mischief, full of guile you torment an old, old gent . . . by name of lyle

left behind, underground at Pioneer Park, where they remain to this very day.

ITS ILLUSTRIOUS PAST REMAINS BURIED & UNHERALDED.

At one time, Pioneer Park was an illustrious and prominent pioneer and Calvary cemetery (one of San Diego’s first-ever cemeteries in recorded history).

Today, this once-honourable and historic resting place has a forgotten past with only a few vestiges left to honour these past decedents of San Diego County.

A modest number of headstones (above ground) are the only (visible) remnants found today that sparsely ring the periphery of some sections of the park today and are easy to locate.

If you look for them, you may find a flat memorial slab, listing only a portion of names of those who passed on and the graves are readily marked, as with most cemeteries.

But to emphasise, for the most part, the park’s honourable history remains undiscovered and physically out of sight, beneath the lush array of trees, shade, and manicured green lawns.

Ironically, this beautiful and widely-popular playground is easily found and patronised by countless millions of visitors down through the years, but its sad and forgotten

past remains beneath the surface, forever lost and forgotten.

At one time, angry San Diego County descendants who are bloodrelated to those subterranean tombstone names are still unable to properly honour their ancestors, early pioneer settlers and, therefore, they have raised their voices in protesting the callous upheaval, removal, and discarded family tombstones into a canyon ditch where they crumpled into countless pieces and are now only dust in the wind. Thousands of other dead relatives are lost and forgotten and still underground.

If the City’s alleged motive for removing those precious tombstones was for the past settlers to be erased and forgotten, then they have succeeded in doing so, for the most part. The age old adage “out of sight and out of mind” seems to have fit their purpose for (most) of today’s modern world and their recreational park.

At one point during the American Early West, it was the burial grounds of both the common and the prominent who once lived and died in San Diego County.

WHAT FOLLOWS IS A RARE & EXCLUSIVE INSIGHT DERIVED FROM ARCHIVAL RECORDS.

According to retrieved early Spanish diary entries, and ledgers, and

they do ‘practice’?

The Bladder

O simple little body part

I knowest when and where thou art

Thy presence wakens me from slumberous sleep since infancy

Amidst such pleasant dreams thy tiny voice screams and screams

So arise I do and walk the hall to answer thine own incessant call

Only in This Stupid World:

......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put useless junk in the garage.

Only in This Stupid World

......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the Store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in This Stupid World

.....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet Coke.

Only in This Stupid World

.....do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Only in This Stupid World

.....do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in This Stupid World

.....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

EVER WONDER

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why don’t you ever see the Headline ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?

Why is ‘abbreviated’ such a long word?

Why is it that Doctors call what

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who Invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called ‘rush hour’?

Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that ‘black box” that is used on airplanes? Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?

If ‘Con’ is the opposite of ‘Pro’, is Congress the opposite of Progress?

This week, a compendium of wit, wisdom and neat stuff you can tell at parties. Enjoy!

Secrets from page 2

books on record, many of San Diego County’s most colourful and prominent personages lived and died at Pioneer Park.

Famous historical missionary, Father Antonio D. Ubach, first came to San Diego in 1866.

With the arrival of Father Ubach, a native of Catalonia from Northern Spain, early San Diego history was on the precipice of recording some of its most intriguing and colourful chapters of human proceedings that would merge into posterity, and burn indelibly into the pages of historical immortality.

Even Father Ubach’s first footprint upon San Diego soil was unprecedented because he brought with him his first-ever musical organ in San Diego history in 1866, almost 160 years ago, an impressive fact for its restrictive time and social customs of the era.

Most San Diegans had never seen a musical organ before, short of illustrations and newspaper photos. Much less, ever heard one in church services.

Because of his playful nature, Father Ubach became especially popular with the various Indian tribes who were not always receptive to missionaries.

The Spanish pioneer had traveled thousands of miles among American Indians, treating them with love and respect. Even in his most simple of proceedings and personal behaviour as a priest, he unknowingly carved new historic beginnings and methods of teaching religion that is, today, the standards and criteria for modern-day preaching: Cheerful, rather than somber and scary.

And even if you refrained to being a convert to Christianity, Father Ubach would, nonetheless, accept you as you are.

For 41 years in San Diego, he became a passionate advocate for California Native Americans and defender of Indian rights – a true visionary who was a quantum leap ahead of his day, especially for the conservative Roman Catholic Church based in Rome.

He was a firebrand who often made the central church nervous with his hugely unusual behaviour.

His happy down-to-earth behaviour often startled and delighted both the religious and non- religious whenever Father Ubach would bring out his olde football and engage others in a wild frenzy of uninhibited competition and endless laughter!

Oodles!

Looking

Kids in the Garden with Farmer Jones

July 8 • 10am - noon

Alta Vista Botanical Gardens

1270 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista

We will be learning about our Feathered Friends - Birds, Nests, and Feathers. Birds have so many special adaptations that help them survive! We see a wonderful variety of birds at the Gardens and all around us!

We’ll follow up with a walkabout through the Gardens.

Registration is required: Jackie Marazzi (760) 445-7012 and George Speer (760) 21206339.

El Camino Quilt Guild Meeting

July 11 • 9:30am El Corazon Senior Center 3302 Senior Center Dr. Oceanside

El Camino Quilt Guild meets at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at El Corazon Senior Center, 3302 Senior Center Dr. Oceanside 92056. Guest fee $10.

While Hollywood’s fictionalised characters in the 1945 movie “The Bells of St. Mary” delighted worldwide audiences with playful antics of priests on the silver screen – Padre Antonio Dominic Ubach was the real thing in true life back in 1866.

Right here in San Diego County. Always the maverick and rulebreaker for his time, Father Antonio D. Ubach even went so far as to request and obtain a special dispensation (i.e. a special exemption from conventional rules and requirements) from the Church to allow him to grow a beard!

(Note: It was not unusual for even bishops and popes to wear beards as far back as the early 1500s. Still, Father Ubach’s request was unexpected for many of the faithful who saw him as unpretentious, unpredictable, childlike, playful, and he was embraced as “one of their own.”)

And many chuckled as he proudly grew his beard for all to see and admire.

Such antics and colourful slices of real life, especially for its time and folkways, made Father Ubach a truly extraordinary and exciting study for people everywhere, and not just in San Diego.

He marched to a different drummer and his persona seemed to cut a wide swath, even outside the religious realm in which he dwelled. Soon newspapers, books, and various publications clamoured to request interviews from – of all things and people – a simple priest

Secrets continued on page 5

Adults will stay with their kids.

Class fee is $5 per person which includes entry and time to enjoy the Gardens till closing at 5:00 pm!

Class is FREE if family has a family membership. Grandparents who have family memberships may bring their grandkids.

If you would like to attend this class, you will need to PRE-REGISTER with Farmer Jones by noon on July 7.

** Provide your child’s name and age for our check-in roster and indicate if you are family members.**

The Gardens are located at 1270 Vale Terrace Drive in Vista, at the top of the hill inside Brengle Terrace Park.

farmerjonesavbg@gmail.com (760) 822-6824 ***

Free Workshops

Escondido Parliamentarians

July 8 & July 15

The Escondido Parliamentarians unit is presenting a free workshop on how to conduct meetings.

Among the topics are agendas, minutes and bylaws. The dates are:

July 8, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. at the St Stephen Catholic church, 31020 Cole Grade road, Valley Center, CA 92982 and

July 15, 2023 -10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Rancho Penasquitos Library, 13330 Salmon River road, San Diego, CA 92129.

Our July speaker is Lauretta Crites https://laurettacrites.com. Her topic is “Create! Keys to Unlocking Your Creative Power.” Learn the AMAZING power hiding in your passion for quilting. Lauretta believes that creativity is a path to joy, and that everyone is creative. On Wednesday, July 12th, join her at Quilt In A Day for “Painted Tyvek Koi Fish” workshop. You’ll learn how to take tyvek and paint and make these stunning fish come to life. No machine needed. Come and learn this exciting technique. Open to non-members. For more information – elcaminoquilters. com or email info@elcaminoquilters.com.

El Camino Quilters is a non-profit group. We donate hundreds of quilts and other handmade items to a variety of groups including Senior centers, hospitals, police and military groups. Thank you.

***

Almost Famous Flying’s Second Best July 11 • 11:30am - 1:30pm The Heights Golf Club 16066 Bernardo Heights Pkwy San Diego

Please join us for a great lunch and then hear informative and inspirational stories from Dr Maud Rao of the Air and Space Museum, who can entertain and enlighten us with his knowledge and experiences.

How many of us have known folks who were “almost famous?” If we think back on our ives, or even read about the common man of history, we’ll find plenty of instances

Father Antonio D. Ubach

New Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy Open

for Public Review

The City of San Marcos invites residents to review the draft Neighborhood Traffic Management Policy, open now for public review until Sunday, July 23. Residents can review the policy by visiting the city’s website or by visiting the Developmental Services Department public information counter Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and alternating Fridays located at 1 Civic Center Drive.

The new policy will allow the city to enhance the travel safety of residents through all modes of transportation. Residents will have the opportunity to understand educational and enforcement techniques used to modify driver behaviors in addition to traffic calming improvement strategies to implement specific needs within different areas of San Marcos neighborhoods.

For comments and questions, please contact trafficdivision@ san-marcos.net

Filing Period Open for Property Tax Assessment Appeals

San Diego County residents and businesses who disagree with their property tax assessments for the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year may file an application to appeal their value

Local News

between July 2 and Nov. 30.

The Clerk of the County Assessment Appeals Board, Andrew Potter, announced the filing period Friday.

Applications and information booklets are available on the County’s website at www.sandiegocounty.gov/cob/aab.html. Residents may also pick them up and speak with Clerk of the Board staff at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402, San Diego, CA 92101-2471.

To file an application, taxpayers must know their parcel or tax bill number, property address and state their opinion of the property’s market value on the application. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office must receive applications no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 30 or postmarked by midnight of Nov. 30.

Mail applications and forms to: Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Assessment Appeals, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402, San Diego, CA 92101-2471. For additional information and helpful tips, watch this video online at https://youtu. be/MRuCTkOXkdc.

***

County Holds Cool Zone Event with Weather Warming Up County Board of Supervisors

er, and only your vote counted. Here are the facts about the three candidates. Who would you vote for?

Candidate A : Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with an astrologist. He has had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B : He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college, and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Man About Town

Tough Questions

Question # 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded. And she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.

Question # 2 : It is time to elect a new world lead-

Candidate C : He is a decorated war hero. He is a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Which of these three candidates would be your choice?

Decide first . . NO PEEKING.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt

Candidate B is Winston Churchill

Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

And, by the way, on your answer

Chairwoman Nora Vargas and County health officials held a press event Tuesday to remind people the County’s Cool Zone program gives them free, safe, air-conditioned sanctuaries to escape extreme heat as temperatures are expected to rise this weekend.

A complete list of Cool Zone sites, their hours and locations is located online. The site includes a map feature where people can type in their address to find locations near them. People can also call 2-1-1 to find a location, or, if they cannot get to a Cool Zone, ask for help with free transportation.

The Cool Zone program runs from June 1 through Oct. 31. It gives people more than 60 places, including County and city libraries and community centers, to go to if they need respite from extra-high temperatures.

Extreme heat can be especially dangerous for older adults and children. The County Health and Human Services Agency 2022 Excessive Heat Report released Friday stated there were 15 Heat Alerts issued by the National Weather Service, compared to 16 the year before.

Everyone is recommended to shelter in cool locations when the temperatures get too hot. Working or exercising outside on a hot day or staying in a hot space too long can cause heat-related illnesses. Those

to the abortion question:

If you said YES, to abort the baby, you just killed Beethoven.

Pretty interesting isn’t it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

And finally, can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics :

• 29 Have been accused of spousal abuse

• 7 Have been arrested for fraud

• 19 Have been accused of writing bad checks

• 117 Have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least two ( 2 ) businesses

• 3 Have done time for assault

• 71 Can not get a credit card due to bad credit

• 14 Have been arrested on drugrelated charges

• 8 Have been arrested for shoplifting

• 21 Are currently defendants in lawsuits

• 84 Have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year . . .

Can you guess the name of which

can range from cramps to exhaustion and heatstroke—a condition when the body can no longer control its temperature.

For more information about the County’s Cool Zone program, visit https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/ hhsa/programs/ais/cool_zones/ ***

SDG&E Offers Community Tree Rebate Program

Trees play a critical role in creating healthier, safer, and more connected communities in San Diego. They clean the air, filter water, and even provide shade canopy that helps cool cities by up to 10 degrees. Your participation in the SDG&E® Community Tree Program helps our communities by supporting local biodiversity and improving air quality.

Now through October 31st, 2023, qualifying SDG&E customers can receive a $35 rebate for planting or potting a 1- or 5-gallon tree/plant species and a $50 rebate for a 15-gallon tree/plant species. Customers can apply for up to five (5) rebates annually. Customers do not need a yard to qualify, as trees or other plant species can be planted in large containers on outdoor balconies or patio areas.

Visit sdge.com/tree-rebate for more information.

organization it is? Give up Yet?

It is the 535 members of the United States Congress.

This is the same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

••••

Back in the 1970’s I managed KOWN radio in Escondido for 7 years. This was mostly during the Alan Skuba era when he owned the radio station and was also an Escondido City Council member and, later, Mayor.

During that time we frequently got invitations to La Costa where they had the celebrity tennis tournaments. We’d go to the barbecues and cocktail parties and mingle with the stars.

Just like each of you, we had the same fears. “What the hell do we talk about?” “What do you say to

Secrets from page 3

who was chronicled far beyond the boundaries of San Diego County!

The olde San Diego Union Newspaper was no exception.

On 25 June 1905, with the weather peaking at 74-degrees, The San Diego Union conducted its first one-on-one interview with Father Antonio D. Ubach, the simple missionary priest who colourfully splashed upon the San Diego scene like no other, before or since!

But, in time, he was getting olde. And the march of time was slowly stealing away his youth, nimbleness, and physical strength.

On a bright sunny Saturday afternoon, on 27 March 1907, the ever-popular Father Antonio D. Ubach, the architect of the Catholic Cemetery (today known as Calvary and Pioneer Cemetery) sadly passed away.

To his dying day, he struggled and fought the onslaught of the years, fighting to continue his work and insisted on appearing to his faithful following.

But the onslaught of the years would prove too much and, as always, olde age won-out and forced him to back-down on his duties and become, understandably, retired and out of sight.

Unlike the generic missionary, news of his death reverberated everywhere – even as far away as the East coast.

Even the non-religious took no-

tice of his passing and loved him deeply.

He was no ordinary man.

He was deeply loved and his playful, childlike behaviour endeared him to many who might, otherwise, care little for religious ideology.

He was likened to a wild flower that, somehow, grew colourful and strong amidst a soil that was often sparse and barren and restrictive.

However, not even the hand of death could quiet or vanquish his endearment to countless thousands of people everywhere; of all faiths and, many, with no religious faith whatsoever.

At his funeral and eulogy, newspaper reporters from distant points of the compass would descend upon San Diego County to chronicle the event for their readership whose fancy was captured and they craved to learn more.

The church was unable to house

the outpouring of affection as people overflowed and poured outside into the open air.

Newspapers and journalists lovingly called him: “The Last of the Padre Priests.”

Indeed, this was no ordinary human being.

He was loved by even anonymous admirers far and away who had never met him – they only read about his exploits.

In his book, “History of San Diego, 1542 – 1905,” brilliant world renowned Massachusetts journalist and author, William Ellsworth Smythe, captured the spirit and ambience of Father Antonio D. Ubach’s funeral with the following:

“Among the mass of floral emblems, nothing was more touching than the wild flowers brought by the Indians from the mountains. The historic priest sleeps in the Catholic Cemetery on the mesa,

which overlooks the scene of his labours.”

Quite a reception from Native Americans who did not take kindly to missionaries of the era and who remained (unconverted).

For this extraordinary man, they made one exception.

Today, this beautiful playground called Pioneer Park offers much for the pursuit of joyful gatherings and family recreation.

It is a vastly large family park, complete with kids’ playground, tennis courts (located across the street from the main entrance), and it attracts happy gatherings from picnics to weddings and receptions, to live concerts to sway, sing, and dance to.

In other words, it is the perfect playground legacy left to us by the playful and joyful European, Father Antonio D. Ubach, who once frolicked, childlike, with his football, engaging others (even the non-religious Native Americans) all who shared his vision of a world through playful, loving eyes.

Today, one cannot help but think, that this is exactly how Father Antonio Ubach would have wanted it. The cemetery he once created, symbolically and miraculously transformed into a playground of love, fun, togetherness, and the ongoing celebration of Life over Death.

And so it has become in 2023, all because of Father Ubach and his

Secrets continued on page 9

from page 4

a star?” “I hope I/we don’t put our foot in our mouth(s)”.

It is surprising what a few well placed Scotch and Sodas will do!

All of a sudden our inhibitions were lessened to the point that when introduced to a luminary we didn’t wet our pants.

But, alas, we did put our foot in our mouth. Both of us. At different times. I think Mary was first. We met Jimmy Durante.

That went fine. Then we were introduced to Merv Griffin. Not so fine. Mary said. . . .”I never watch you. You’re on too late”.

I must admit he was very composed, handled it well, and was quite pleasant.

Then, Mary again. . .”You look fat-

ter on tv”. (My eyes slowly rolled to the back of my head; my heart was pounding; I managed a feeble smile). To his credit, he remained composed and a perfect gentleman. (I’ve never been terribly fond of him. But the man showed me some class. He didn’t lose his cool).

It was my turn. I met Lloyd Bridges. “I really like your work,” I said. “I particularly enjoyed the recent television movie where you were a spy, your girlfriend was a spy; you got the assignment to kill your girlfriend cause you learned she was a double agent . . .”

I saw his eyes fade. He kept a tight little smile on his face but he began looking around the room for anyone. . .anyone!

I couldn’t figure out why. . .I started to continue. . . .”uh, excuse me, I have to talk to that man. . .” he said, and he left.

It was only about a minute later

that it hit me. It WASN’T Lloyd Bridges in that movie!! It was Darren McGavin!

Mary and I were even when it came to gaffes. (Actually, I think I won because I made a bigger ass of myself than she did).

The rest of the evening we contented ourselves with meeting Clint Eastwood, (much the same in person as on-screen. Quiet, subdued), Johnny Carson, (Very pleasant). Efrem Zimbalist Jr., JoAnne Worley, Lucille Ball, (Did not care for her. Madame Imperious). Chad Everett, etc. We were quite pleased with ourselves that we made no further social errors.

Johnny and I (gee, it feels good to say that. . . .) talked about our common experience in Nebraska. (Later, he asked me for my autograph. . .. .no, not really. One does NOT ask for autographs at these parties. Mary and I, being obvious sophisticates KNEW that!)

As the evening wore on we observed Johnny heading for his hotel room. He was accompanied by three (count ‘em, three!) sweet young thangs. (Probably intended on going over some humorous material).

Of even greater significance to me, however, was when I went to the restroom. There, standing at the urinal next to me, ....ladies and gentlemen, . . live and direct from your tv screen. . James Franciscus! And standing behind him, a bit fidgety I thought, was Ross Martin! (from Wild, Wild West - since deceased)

(I have often wondered, “how do you work all of this into cocktail party conversation??? “Oh, yes. . . .I once made tinkle with James Franciscus and Ross Martin!”. Doesn’t quite work, does it?

continued on page 14

Man About Town

Man About Town

Coronado’s Secret Message

Here To Serve

As the Assembly representative for the 75th District, which includes the eastern and northern two-thirds of San Diego County, I’m reaching out to let you know about the services available through my District Office (DO). My staff and I are honored and excited to represent you, and to provide any assistance you may need when dealing with state agencies.

Navigating the state’s bureaucracy can be a challenge, and helping people bypass the busy signals and long wait times is an important function of my DO. The most common issues involve problems with agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Employment Development Department (EDD). We are also frequently contacted about delayed nursing license applications, background checks, missing tax refunds, and much more.

Government is extremely complex, there are multiple layers of authority, and we frequently get inquiries about non-state issues. These include questions about passports, immigration, local zoning, border security, building permits, Veterans Administration issues, and many other topics. If you need help and don’t know where to turn, feel free to contact

us and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Another important DO responsibility involves processing comments from constituents about important issues facing the state. By contacting me through my website about issues or legislation, you help inform my opinion as I review bills in Sacramento. In that way, you become part of the legislative process.

Effective July 7th, my DO will relocate to 9820 Willow Creek Rd, Ste 240, San Diego California, 92131. Since this district is so large, please remember that assistance about any issue or problem is readily available through my website at https:// ad75.asmrc.org/ . Simply click on the “Contact Me” tab so that we can assist you.

My staff and I take our responsibility to help constituents seriously. We are here to serve you.

Assemblymember Marie Waldron, R- Valley Center, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the cities of Poway, Santee, portions of the City of San Diego, and most of rural eastern and northern San Diego County.

A Word from San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones

San Marcos receives CALED Award of Merit for Economic Resiliency & Recovery

from the General Fund Reserves. From there, the city offered San Marcos businesses the opportunity to apply for a short-term business loan, demonstrating our commitment to invest in our local businesses in times of need. We were able to forgive all business loans we provided, with the money received from the federal CARES Act. We are fortunate to have financial resources to support our business community. For more program details, please visit the website.

Chuckles from page 2

Catholic Hospital

You don’t have to be a Catholic to appreciate this one!

A man suffered a serious heart attack while shopping in a store.

The store manager called 911 when they saw him collapse to the floor.

The paramedics rushed the man to the nearest hospital where he had emergency open heart bypass surgery.

He awakened from the surgery to find himself in the care of nuns at the Catholic Hospital.

A nun was seated next to his bed holding a clipboard loaded with several forms, and a pen. She asked him how he was going to pay for his treatment.

“Do you have health insurance?” she asked.

He replied in a weak raspy voice, “No health insurance.”

The nun asked, “Do you have money in the bank?”

He replied, “No money in the bank.”

Do you have a relative who could help you with the payments? asked the irritated nun. He said, “I only have a spinster sister, and she is a nun.”

The nun became agitated and announced loudly, “Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God.”

The patient replied, “Perfect. Send the bill to my brother-in-law.”

We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

~ Aesop, Greek slave & fable author

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

~ Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

I am honored to announce that the City of San Marcos received the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) Award of Merit on behalf of our COVID-19 Business Sustainability Program.

City Council approved of the program in March 2020, allowing the city to set aside up to $3,000,000

The CALED Award of Merit for Economic Resiliency & Recovery awarded an innovative Project, program or collaboration between 2020-22 as a response to economic disruptions like wildfires, earthquakes, the pandemic, a major employer leaving or outside economic market changes. Please visit the CALED website for more information.

~ Nikita

Khrushchev, Russian Soviet politician

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.

~ Quoted in ‘Clarence Darrow for the Defence’ by Irving Stone

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. ~ John Quinton, American actor/writer

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.

~ Oscar Ameringer, “the Mark Twain of American Socialism”

I offered my opponents a deal: “If they stop telling lies about me, I will stop telling the truth about them”. ~ Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.

~ Texas Guinan. 19th-century American businessman

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. ~ Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician

Problem Solved

by Christopher Elliott

Mitsubishi issued a recall for my car.

Why won’t it pay for the repair?

A critical part of Jaimin Patel’s Mitsubishi Lancer is corroded. Although he pays for the repair, Mitsubishi ultimately recalls the component. Why won’t the company cover his costs?

Q: My 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer had a corroded front cross member. I contacted Mitsubishi in 2019, and a representative suggested I repair the car myself because there was no recall. But he advised me to keep the documents for reimbursement if there is any recall in the future.

Fast forward to mid-2020, when Mitsubishi issued a recall for the same part.

I submitted all the paperwork in early 2021 and have been waiting for my reimbursement. I have called Mitsubishi almost every month to get my status. In early 2022, a representative said the process was “complete” and that I would hear from a case manager soon. But so far, nothing. Can you get Mitsubishi to pay me the $1,460 it owes me?

~ Jaimin Patel, Bartlett, Ill.

A: Mitsubishi should have paid for the repair the first time you brought this to the company’s attention. The cross member is

Problem

By Tom Morrow

When I asked the late Clarence Baer of Oceanside, Calif., what he did for Uncle Sam during the great World War II, he replied, with a smile, “I served in the United States Army ‘Chair’ Corps.”

Although he never heard a shot fired in anger, Baer had a key role in ending the War even though he didn’t know he was doing it at the time.

Baer grew up in Spartansburg, S.C., receiving a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson. After graduation, Baer took a job with the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C. After a year or so, Baer was transferred to an FPC regional office in Denver.

By 1939, war clouds were on the horizon and all the aircraft companies were hiring as many engineers as they could find.

“We moved to Burbank where I went to work for Lockheed as a weight engineer.”

Historically Speaking A Balancing Act To End A War

Later that year, a U.S. Army Air Corps colonel from Wright Army Air Field in Dayton, Ohio was taking delivery of a new Lockheed C-60 plane, (forerunner of the Constellation). They got into a conversation about the looming war.

“He told me he had a job for me at Wright Field, if I wanted it, as a weights and balance officer,” Baer recalled. “I figured it was a good opportunity to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, so I told him I’d go if he could get me orders.”

Within a month Baer was a 1st lieutenant, stationed at the U.S. Army Air Corps Aircraft Laboratory at Wright Field near Dayton.

“I spent the next few years at Wright, never going anywhere else,” he chuckled. “I did the same work I had been doing at Lockheed.”

When he arrived at Wright Field, Baer was assigned to the Weight Branch, headed by a major who didn’t know anything about weighing an aircraft. During a trip to a Pennsylvania aircraft plant, Baer not only solved a problem of proper weight and balance of aircraft being manufactured, his boss watch Baer as he did the job.

While Baer’s work in the Army Air Corps didn’t seem that exciting, it had its moments. Basically, it was his job to calculate and design

heavy loads for planes, especially bombers, so they could get off the ground safely and fly properly.

By 1943, Baer was a captain and considered one of the Air Corps’ top weight and balance experts. One day in mid-1945, Captain Baer was told to report to a Wright Field hangar where two B-29 Superfortress bombers awaited. He sensed these weren’t just any bombers, but no one was saying why they were special.

“All I was told was that ‘here are two aircraft that each has to be modified to carry a ‘very heavy object,’” Baer recalled. “I was told what I was working on was ‘more than top-secret.’ It was the most important job I would ever have.”

The two B-29 bombers took their turn on the huge scales in the Wright Field hangar. Baer’s job was to tell other engineers where in the fuselage to place the bomb rack. The first bomber would have to be fitted for one 10,000-pound

Travel Troubleshooter

by Christopher Elliott

“object;” the second plane would have a 9,000-pound payload.

“We didn’t have computers back then. I had to work out everything on a mechanical calculator and a slide ruler.”

Baer said no B-29, which was America’s biggest bomber during the war, had ever carried a bomb load of that much weight.

“It didn’t take very long for me to do the work, maybe a few weeks, and then one night the two B-29s disappeared,” he chuckled.

It wouldn’t be until after the War had ended, that Baer figured out he had designed the bomb loads for the “Enola Gay” and “Bock’s Car,” the two planes that carried the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, ending the War. The Enola Gay carried “Little Boy,” the 9,000-pounder; Bock’s

Angela Hall finds cameras pointed at the bed in her Hawaii vacation rental. She checks out and Vrbo offers to refund her for a hotel and the remainder of her stay. But it never does. What’s going on?

Q: On the first night of our vacation rental in Hawaii, I found cameras pointing directly at the bed in our master bedroom. I immediately contacted Vrbo and cited their surveillance policy, which says cameras and audio recorders can’t be used inside a property.

A Vrbo representative offered limited guidance and asked for more information and pictures. I left the following morning and found a hotel. Vrbo directed me to file a police report. I returned to the property and filed a report with the Hilo police.

Vrbo agreed to cover our hotel stay for the next two nights. But so far, I’ve received nothing from Vrbo.

I’m looking for a refund of the hotel plus the remaining balance of $1,095. I successfully disputed the second half of my Vrbo payment on my credit card. Can you help me get the rest?

~ Angela Hall, Raleigh, N.C.

A: You’re not the first vacation rental guest to find a camera in a home. But aimed at the bed in the master bedroom -- that’s a new one.

I would have checked out immediately. I’m impressed that you found Vrbo’s surveillance policy and cited it. Most guests would have left and simply asked for a refund without doing any research. Vrbo recommends contacting the company directly instead of taking the matter up with your host, which you did.

Vacation rental owners have the right to protect their property with cameras and other surveillance

equipment outside of their homes. Technically, your vacation rental owner was following the rules. The cameras were outside the home. But they were pointed directly through the bedroom window to the bed, and there were no curtains to close. This led to a disagreement between you and the vacation rental platform.

You kept the paper trail of correspondence between you and Vrbo, in which it agreed to reimburse you for the hotel and the rental. So you should have seen a refund within a few weeks of your stay on the Big Island. Why didn’t you?

According to the emails you received from Vrbo after I asked about your case, there was a small “discrepancy” between the amount you sought from the company and the amount it thought it should pay. But I think there may be a simpler and more plausible explanation. You disputed the second charge for

your rental on your credit card. In my experience, credit card disputes can stop any refund the company may have been planning to issue. Chargebacks vastly complicate the process and can lead to long waits.

You couldn’t have known that when you tried to claw back the money for your ill-fated vacation rental. When weeks became months, you could have sent a brief, polite email to one of the executive contacts for Vrbo that I list on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

I contacted Vrbo on your behalf, and it refunded you for the rest of the rental and hotel, as promised.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

© 2023 Christopher Elliott.

Fat Man Little Boy

New Rule: The Seat In Front Of You On A Plane Is Off-Limits

Don’t touch it, don’t use it as a brace when you stand up, and definitely no drum solos on the tray table.

Especially no drum solos.

Janet Ruth Heller remembers a recent flight from Phoenix to Detroit where the baby behind her channeled his inner Art Blakey. The table vibrated, jolted and bumped for several minutes until she’d had enough.

“I turned around and told his mother that I wanted it to stop,” says Heller, a frequent traveler and retired college professor from Portage, Mich.

Mom cut off the performance by returning the tray table to the upright position, where -- pay attention, parents! -- it belongs for all young passengers unless it’s mealtime.

Seat kickers and tray table drummers have consistently ranked as the number-one annoyance for air travelers. But the discussion about these bothersome in-flight behaviors has always ended too soon, with standard advice to curb your kids.

But with economy class airline seats moving closer together, there’s a much broader discussion

about making contact with the seat in front of you. And it raises one big question: Is touching someone else’s seat ever acceptable? The answer is almost always no.

Don’t pull yourself up using the seat in front of you

The limited debate about seat kickers overlooks an even more annoying passenger behavior: passengers who grab the seat in front of them when they want to stand up. Don’t do that. A new survey by online travel company Kayak says 76% of travelers disapprove of seat grabbing.

Etiquette consultant Jodi RR Smith was awoken when the passenger behind her used the top of her seat for leverage to stand.

“He yanked multiple hairs right out of my head,” she recalls. “When I turned to look at him, he was surprised to see several strands of my hair hanging from his meaty fingers.”

The passenger apologized. Smith didn’t have to tell him that her seat was not a brace, but, you know, her seat. But when he returned to his seat, he was careful to hold onto his armrest, which was, you know, his.

Stop tapping your screen so hard

Sometimes, you aren’t even aware that you’re touching the seat in front of you. But many planes have in-flight entertainment systems that require you to touch them -- sometimes forcefully. Adding to the problem: Airline seats are almost paperthin, which means the passenger in front of you feels every single tap.

“A good deal of the older in-flight entertainment systems use outdated touchscreen technology. Those screens involve pressing very firmly to select items on the screen, often to the point that the passenger in front can feel it,” says Alex Weihmann, a frequent air traveler

who works for a software company in Washington, D.C.

Even typing on a laptop computer can send a small and annoying jolt to the passenger in front of you, especially if you’re a forceful typist. The smack-smack of your fingers against the keyboard causes the tray table to vibrate, which then transfers to the passenger. Stop that!

No one should kick the seat in front of them

It’s unusual for an adult to kick your airline seat -- which is obvi-

Photo illustration by Aren Elliott

Secrets from page 5

unrelenting vision.

Today, as he rests, silently above a small hill overlooking his oncemodest park which he first outlined in his plans 157 years ago today –it is the perfect place for him to be. Right above Pioneer Park he rests, where small children and families picnic, and play with their dogs, and dance to music below.

And yes, even playing football, as he once did with his congregation –and the surrounding Native Americans -- many years ago, when he was a much younger man.

CORONADO’S LONG LOST SECRET MESSAGE IN THE SAND IS STILL THERE, BUT, OFTEN UNSEEN!

We’ve often heard the fanciful tales of people putting secret messages into a bottle and then tossing the bottle into the ocean only for the note and bottle to be found thousands of miles away by someone else in, perhaps, another country. Well, the City of Coronado has a years-long secret message that did not come in a bottle, but it did wash up on the beach from the ocean, nonetheless.

And that secret message still re-

mains today, unseen, and unread by most people – primarily because they don’t even know it’s there!

And has been there for many-along year!

THE GREAT SECRET MESSAGE ON CORONADO’S BEACH CAN ONLY BE SEEN FROM HIGH ABOVE!

Down through the decades, joggers and casual beach visitors who stroll through Coronado’s beautiful world-renowned beaches are well aware of the high sand dunes they encounter.

The shoreline just north of the world famous Hotel Del Coronado has some pretty nifty-looking sand dunes.

All of which appears quite normal and nothing more – at least to observers on ground level.

These natural-looking sand dunes are, in reality, a carefully crafted message that was created over three decades ago.

A hidden message which can only be read from a birds-eye view, from an airplane, or perhaps with a camera-equipped drone if you have one.

High above the shoreline, looking down, the observer can easily and plainly see the message in giant-

sized letters made out of rock and sand that simply and appropriately spell out the word: CORONADO.

“Are you kidding?!” asked one recent, disbelieving Coronado resident when informed of the secret message. After a slight pause, he continues: “That’s mind-blowing! That’s hard to believe because I’ve lived here in Coronado all my life!”

Another incredulous response from a lady with small child in tow was, “I don’t believe you! Sorry.” Then she pauses, ponders, then asks, “Are you serious?!”

Finally, one beach stroller was, indeed, aware of the legendary tale, but expressed a caveat: “Oh yeah, but when I found out, well, I still am unable to read the message unless I rent a plane and I’m not about to do that!”

HOW IT ALL CAME

TO BE.

The secret, mysterious message atop those familiar, tall sand dunes at the rear of the world-famous Hotel Del Coronado Hotel, was created by a city worker named Armando Moreno back in 1988, during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of observance.

Today, in 2023, it has now been 35 years since this colourful and hidden secret came into being.

In the 1980s, when a huge storm wreaked havoc upon the beautiful Coronado shoreline, causing a chaotic and massive mess that was built-up and needed to be cleared off, a maintenance worker was given his Herculean orders.

As a city worker, Mr. Moreno was told to remove the large amount of kelp beds and huge amounts of sand with his bulldozer. AN ARTIST WITH A “PALETTE” MADE OF SEA DEBRIS, A “BEACH CANVASS” & A BULLDOZER FOR HIS “PAINT BRUSH”!

What appeared to everyone as a disjointed, unwanted eyesore of sand mounds, rocks, seaweed, and other unwanted debris was, instead, seen by Armando Moreno as simply an unfinished work of art on a “beach canvass.”

To Moreno, it wasn’t all an eyesore.

It all simply needed to be artistically re-arranged and designed –as opposed to simply throwing it all away!

In short, city worker, Armando Moreno, would ingeniously hide within his sand dunes a secret, oneword message: “CORONADO.”

Secrets

continued on page 10

Secrets from page 9

But with ‘letters’ so huge in size that they remain indistinct and, therefore, hidden from ground level.

U. S. JET FIGHTER PILOTS FROM NAS WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO SEE THE MESSAGE!

U. S. pilots out of Naval Air Station North Island at Coronado (NASN), were among the very first to spot Moreno’s most amazing clandestine message from above: “CORONADO.”

The secret message on Coronado’s famed beach below was a popular and welcomed sight –and familiar aerial reference point -- for many of the fighter pilots from the 23rd aviation squadrons out of Naval Base Coronado, which is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complexes in the United States Navy.

PILOT TAKES EMOTIONAL ARMANDO MORENO AIRBORNE TO SEE HIS OWN MESSAGE FOR VERY FIRST TIME!

For countless U. S. fighter pilots over the years, and the Fleet Readiness Centre Southwest, all trained to protect our U. S. coastline, they were all well aware, enjoyed, and found comfort in the familiar message far below their flight routes.

However, it just didn’t seem right or proper that Mr. Armando Moreno, City of Coronado employee and creator of Coronado’s now-legendary secret message far below – that

he had never, ironically, seen his own message from above!

That was all about to be remedied. After it was learned in a 2011 newspaper story that Moreno had never before seen his own secret message from a birds-eye view, action was soon taken to remedy that problem.

Due to the gracious efforts of Coronado residents, Jenny and Molly Cooper, these two ladies arranged for a relative and a San Diego pilot, Britt Cooper, to take Moreno skyward to see his own sand dunes message for the very first time!

READERS CAN VIEW THIS HISTORIC & EMOTIONAL SAN DIEGO MOMENT TODAY!

It was a dream-come true for Moreno.

It would prove to be an emotional journey and the occasion can be viewed today!

Just Google: Armando Moreno Flies Over Coronado.

It is well worth it for our readership to click on the video and vicariously relive that emotional moment, flying high above and hearing Moreno’s own words in an exhilarating in-flight journey!

It was a widely popular news item covered by both the print and visual media, and on 1 June 2011, the local Coronado Times newspaper proudly caught the mile-

Secrets

continued on page 12

Pet Parade Jedeye

Jedeye is pet of the week at your Rancho Coastal Humane Society (RCHS.) She’s a 4-1/2-year-old, 8-1/2-pound, female, Domestic Short Hair Cat with a Brown Tabby coat.

Her owner neglected her until an injury resulted in her losing an eye. She was transferred to RCHS through FOCAS – Friends of County Animal Shelters.

She’s learning to trust people and might like living with kids or other cats.

The $100 adoption fee for Jedeye includes medical exam, spay, up to date vaccinations, and registered microchip.

For more information or to sponsor a pet visit Rancho Coastal Humane Society at 389 Requeza Street in Encinitas, call 760-753-6413, or log on to www.SDpets.org.

Open 11 to 4, Friday through Monday, and by appointment Wednesday and Thursday.

Oodles from page 3

where the story could have gone quite differently.

The meeting opens at 11:30 at The Heights Golf Club, 16066 Bernardo Heights Blvd, Rancho Bernardo, with lunch from 12:00 noon until 12:30. Cost is $37 for lunch and in-depth discussion with Maud Rao, Docent of the San Diego Air Museum.

Registration can be done with this invitation, by phone to Blair Lawson at 858-217-6996 or email blawson@san.rr.com.

Please register by Saturday, July 8.

The Bernardo Heights CC needs our count of attendees and luncheon selections by then!!

If you cannot attend in person, Zoom attendance is also available. You will be notified on Monday, July 10th with the Zoom instructions. ***

Introduction to Dungeons & Dragons Workshop

July 15 • 12:00 - 2:00 pm

Escondido Library

Turrentine Room

Get rolling with Dungeons & Dragons! Interested in playing Dungeons & Dragons but don’t know where to start? From learning how to build a character to what materials you need, this workshop will feature the basics on how to get started in starting your own adventure. Intended for adults, but all ages are welcome to participate.

This workshop is presented by Knowhere Games & Comics.

***

Chamber Mixer

July 12 • 5 - 7 pm

North County Food Bank 3030 Enterprise Ct., Suite A Vista, CA

This North County Food Bank Chamber collaborative event will provide an opportunity for our North County business and community leaders to engage with one another, network, and build valuable connections.

Guests will also have the opportunity to learn more about the North County Food Bank’s mission and impact in our community and tour the warehouse.

To register, visit https://web.carlsbad.org/atlas/events/2023-northcounty-food-bank-4-chamber-happy-hour-3263/register

***

Call For Artists Escondido Art Association

The Escondido Art Association announces their show for the month of July at the EAA Gallery, 121 W. Grand Avenue, Escondido. The Theme for the show is “Escondido.” EAA members and non-members are encouraged to enter. The judge is the highly respected artist, Kate Joiner.

Entry fees will apply: Members

Oodles continued on page 13

Pet of the Week

How can we describe Jimbo? This handsome great Pyrenees has been likened to a cuddly cloud, and is a gently giant with a heart of gold! Jimbo is 100lbs. and 100% lovable – and he’s just waiting for the perfect human companions to come and adopt him! This large and lovable floof has a lot of energy and will be happiest in a home where he can have consistent exercise and mental enrichment. Once the playing is done, he’ll enjoy snuggling up and spending quality time with you. Jimbo is available for adoption at San Diego Humane Society’s Escondido Campus at 3500 Burnet Dr. If you have questions about the adoption process, you can visit sdhumane.org/adopt or call 619-299-7012.

Online profile: https://www.sdhumane.org/adopt/available-pets/animal-single.html?petId=865768

If you are under 49 years old, you are a part of the generations suffering the scourge of declining IQs. The actual decline became obvious when Gen X (1965-1979 and Millennials (1980-1994) took standardized IQ tests in the late 1990s and early 2000s. No reason to panic though, GenX and Milennials are only 2% dumber than we “Baby Boomers.” It’s the kids (our grandkids) we’re worried about. The trend seems to be accelerating and although the numbers aren’t in on the GenZ (1995-2012) and Gen Alpha (2013-2025) yet, the early signs don’t look good.

There is no one to blame, shame or guilt for the declining IQ test scores. It’s a natural and logi-

cal consequence of advancing technology. IQ is a measure of reasoning and problem solving ability. Evolution shaped our reasoning and problem solving abilities to facilitate survival and reproduction. We banded together and learned to co-operate and specialize. We learned to record, teach and to pass our knowledge on for future generations to build upon. We built civilizations and cities with roads, bridges, buildings water supplies and sewers. More recently we built trains, planes, automobiles, bikini’s and cracked the atom. Then, in 2001, “broadband” Internet arrived and began to change everything. The Internet could access all of man’s recorded knowledge and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could provide a reliable solution in less time, using less energy than humans. The younger generations (Gens Z and Alpha) increasingly rely on the Internet and AI instead of their own memory and intellect. The positive results are reduced human time and energy expenditure and more reliable solutions. On the negative side, we are beginning to see the reduction in human “brainpower” based problem solving and a “use it or lose it” decline in human cognitive function (IQ)?

Throughout human history man has used his mind (cognitive resources) to advance technologies aimed at o reducing the energy required to ensure his safety and

survival. Man’s efforts to feed, clothe and house himself with a minimum expenditure of energy have been highly successful. Following the rule of “use it or lose it” a general tendency toward the loss of strength and fitness was becoming epidemic in mid-20 th century American cities. Urban populations responded with participation sports, exercise, fitness clubs and gyms as a way to maintain strength and fitness. These activities require the expenditure of human time and energy and produce no tangible products or service. Ironically a major force behind technological innovation has been to reduce the expenditure of human time and energy in production of goods and services. Maintaining physical strength and fitness

Twice

through recreational activities has become a major force in America. Now we may also be seeing the beginning of a long term decline in our cognitive abilities (IQ), thanks again to the success of our own technology.

Will we continue to allow AI to replace our human IQs? Is our destiny to become childlike zombies entirely dependent on our technology like the inhabitants of “Idiocracy?” Perhaps the decline in our younger generation’s IQs is a temporary readjustment to the massive and sudden expansion of the human knowledge base. Hopefully Gen X and the Millennials will soon reverse their death spiral and take mankind soaring to new heights. It could happen!

Why pay twice as much and get half as much?

Over 60 notebook, desktop, All-in-One & Micros in stock

A good animal story is a good story anywhere. We’re a family of animal lovers. No matter where we are on the planet, we share a bond with people we’ve never met. We’ll probably never meet most of them, but we know them because they love animals, just like we do.

A few weeks ago, thanks to The Paper and our longtime friend, Editor / Publisher Lyle Davis, we “met” a new family member. Her name is Patricia. She lives right smack dab in the middle of Texas and, like us,

she

reads The Paper

According to Google Maps, our new sister, Patricia, lives 1,345 miles from San Marcos, California, the home of The Paper. It would take 20-1/2 hours to drive from Lyle’s office to Patricia’s house in Texas. That’s just the time behind the wheel. It doesn’t include stops to get gas or charge your batteries, sleep, eat, or….you know. Just driving time.

Yet, here’s Patricia, writing a letter to share her thoughts about Critter Corner.

I have been wanting to write you for eons, to tell you what a fabulous job you do of reporting so beautifully on all creatures large and small.

Your recent article on Whitz and

RCHS Pet Food Bank

Open every Saturday 9-11am

No appointment necessary.

Rancho Coastal Humane Society

389 Requeza St. • Encinitas

Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s (RCHS) Pet Food Bank Program keeps people and their pets together by providing support to pet parents who may need a helping paw. We provide supplemental pet food and pet care supplies for companion cats and dogs at multiple distribution sites throughout San Diego County. Visit rchumanesociety.org for more information

Whatz was fascinating, charming, warm, and so full of dog insights. (May 4, 2023 issue)

This gift finds itself in countless homes and you pave the way for

more outreach programs and adoptions. My heart expands 10-fold at just the thought.

We’ve never met Patricia and we probably never will. But we are connected for life thanks to our mutual love for animals.

Along with her kind words, Patricia sent a donation to support the pet food bank.

Her donation will buy food for the pet of someone who she will never meet. Patricia is fine with that. She doesn’t need to know who will benefit from her generosity. She’s just helping someone else in our family.

We’re animal lovers. We appreciate each other. It’s a special bond that some people already understand, and that others never will.

If you were born after 1975 you and your friends are getting DUMBER!!!!

Secrets from page 10

stone occasion with their own bold headline:

“CORONADO” Dune Creator

Takes Aerial Tour Over His Masterpiece!

It was an emotional moment for Moreno to look downward and see the project that took over two years for him to accomplish.

EVERYONE CAN SEE THE MESSAGE VIA THEIR COMPUTER.

Today, everybody can view this secret message viable their personal computer via the research engine: Google.

And yet, this STILL remains a vastly unknown San Diego County secret!

And for adult passengers who are the victim of a seat-kicker, she has the following advice: Talk to the parent and let them handle the situation. Parents usually have a much better idea of how to positively change their kids’ behavior. If that doesn’t work, ask a flight attendant for help. Scolding kids is minimally useful. (Take it from me as the father of three kids who were not always on their best behavior.)

This shouldn’t be a problem. Airlines ought to give their passengers enough space in economy class so that we don’t constantly bump up against each other. But the problem is now in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is expected to decide on a minimum seat space rule soon.

In the meantime, maybe airlines can offer some practical guidelines for passengers about when they can -and can’t -- touch the seat in front of them. And don’t forget to pack your patience. You’re gonna need it.

Elliott’s tips on when it’s OK to touch the seat in front of you

You should avoid touching the seat in front of you except during certain limited situations.

If the seat makes contact with you and there’s no place to go

New Rule

from page 8

ously unacceptable. But it happens. Janice Mucalov, a lawyer and writer from Victoria, British Columbia, experienced it when the passenger behind her, “lost in an action movie,” kept bumping her seat with his knees.

“I turned around and had a friendly chat with him,” she says. He apologized and stopped kicking.

But what about kids?

“Parents flying with young kids and lap infants are in the especially precarious position of having to police their children’s interactions with the seat in front of them,” says Evie Granville, co-author of “Modern Manners for Moms & Dads: Practical Parenting Solutions for Sticky Social Situations.” “This can be an exhausting undertaking, especially since children often don’t understand that the seatback is actually the back side of someone else’s seat.”

Her recommendation: First, show your kids the person in front of them to make things less abstract. Second, give them a few ground rules. Keep your feet off the seat. Also, the tray table is not a toy -- or a drum.

Truth is, airlines have been moving the seats so close together that a seat could make contact with you. For example, the person in front of you could lean back, making contact with your knees. In that case, you can continue to make contact with the seat. I would recommend politely asking the passenger in front of you to un-recline your seat so that you have a little more room to move.

During unexpected turbulence or if you lose your balance

If you’re walking through the cabin on the way to the lavatory and you lose your balance, you may have to brace yourself on a seat. If you do, and if you accidentally make contact with someone’s head or if you jolt them, it’s best to apologize. But it’s better to catch yourself using the seat than to possibly fall on top of another passenger.

If no one is sitting in it

Obviously, if there’s no one in the seat in front of you, go crazy. Drum solo, brace, whatever. No one cares. Just don’t forget that the economy class seats are connected, so you may disturb passengers sitting in adjacent seats.

Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can email him at chris@elliott.org.

Friedrich Gomez

SERVICE DIRECTORY

HELP WANTED

Drivers Wanted Part Time!

Monday-Friday Split Shift

$18.00 an hour

CALL TODAY 760-721-1706

Or APPLY at www.teriinc.org

Poinsettia Community Park

July 21: Young Guns (Country)

This band plays all of the best country songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s through today.

THOMPSON

Let Maria and Margarita

Make your house spotless and your windows shine. Yes, we do windows.

Excellent references. Call Maria cell 760-613-7482

Oodles

from page 10

$20 1st entry, $5 ea. 2nd & 3rd; Non-members $30 1st entry, $5 ea. 2nd & 3rd, Students $10 1st entry, $5 ea. 2nd & 3rd.

Take-in of art will be on Saturday, July 1st from 11:00am – 4:00pm.

Find more information at www.escondidoartassociation under FAQ.

“Escondido” will run through Friday, August 4th. All artwork must be picked up by Saturday, August 5th, between 11:00am-4:00pm.

Thursday, July 6th, the public is invited to attend a free artist demonstration by artist Kate Joiner at the Fusion Restaurant, 201 East Grand Ave., Suite A in Escondido from 2pm-4pm.

Saturday, July 8th, the Artist Gallery will host an Artist reception open to the public from 4:00 pm until 6:00pm with a chance to meet and talk with the exhibiting artists. Refreshments will be served. ***

Carlsbad’s TGIF Concerts in the Parks

Carlsbad’s TGIF Concerts in the Parks series, one of the city’s most popular summer activities, is back in person this summer and celebrating its 36th anniversary with an exciting lineup of performances that will have crowds dancing the night away.

Stagecoach Community Park

July 7: Band Overboard (Yacht Rock)

The smooth grooves, four-part harmony vocals, killer guitar solos, and overall lush, full sound will take you back to the late 70s/early 80s.

July 14: B.I.G. (R&B, Soul & Funk)

B.I.G. (Brothers Igniting A Groove) performs a mix of R&B, smooth jazz and old school funk, including covers and original music.

Calavera Hills Community Park

July 28: Jungle Fire (Afro/Latin/ Funk)

An Afro/Latin Funk band creating a melting pot of Afro-Caribbean and West African rhythms with a heavy break beat funk.

Alga Norte Community Park

August 4: Betamaxx (1980s)

A high-energy, nostalgia-filled rock concert that keeps the dance floor packed from beginning to end with an 80s music experience.

August 11: The FABBA Show (A Tribute to ABBA)

An homage to pop sensation ABBA that will take you on a glittery, sparkling, and truly magical journey back to the disco and the 70s.

We’ve received some questions about why there will only be six concerts this year. As we were planning for this summer’s concerts, it became clear that our budget would not cover nine concerts. The cost for hosting the concerts has doubled since 2019, before COVID, and inflation has added to that cost. Reducing the number of concerts this summer was the least disruptive way to address this shortfall this year.

Staff are evaluating options for the 2024 TGIF season and will present those to City Council before any decisions are made about next year’s concerts. ***

Summer Movies

In The Park

Summer Movies in the Park is the largest free and family-friendly outdoor movie series in San Diego County, with dozens of hosting sites and over a hundred screenings. It launched in 2007 as a ‘take back our parks’ initiative – in sync with the County’s Live Well vision to sustain safe, healthy and thriving communities.

Shows run May through October, in neighborhoods from the beach to the

Historically Speaking from page 7 desert, and everything in between. Each movie event gives residents a reason to visit their local parks after dark, deterring inappropriate loitering and park use, and bringing additional safety and security to residents’ favorite locales.

Events begin as early as 6 p.m., though actual movie start times are 15 minutes after sunset. Before the movie, many locations provide additional entertainment like arts and crafts, games, costume contests, music, dancing and food trucks. Movies, dates and locations are subject to change. For more information, visit summermoviesinthepark.com.

***

Bates Nut Farm Craft Fairs

Bates Nut Farm hosts a variety of craft fairs throughout the year, all of which prove to be very popular.

Crafters are encouraged to sign up for vendor space now before spaces are all taken. These upcoming events still have spaces available:

Pumpkin Festival

September 30th - October 1st

Filling up fast but there are still a few spaces left. This very popular craft fair runs during the opening of Valley Center’s largest event of the year, the Bates Pumpkin Patch.

Christmas on the Farm

November 4th & 5th

This craft fair is for vendors who want to participate in a holiday craft fair but don’t want to spend their Thanksgiving weekend selling their wares. There will be great food and live music. East County Cruisers Car Show is November 5th so there are a lot of visitors coming to the farm this weekend.

Santa’s Coming

November 24th - 26th

Santa pays a visit during this great holiday event, and there will be lots of other family-friendly activities as well.

A craft fair application is available online at www.batesnutfarm.biz or stop by a pick one up in the office Monday-Friday from 9-5.

Car (named for its pilot, Fredrick C. Bock) carried “Fat Man,” a 10,000pound device.

Army Air Corps Col. Paul Tibbett, the pilot of the Enola Gay (named for his mother), said the following about the tremendous weight of “Little Boy” as it was dropped over Hiroshima:

“We were carrying such weight that when the bomb was released, the Enola Gay shot up so fast my pilot’s seat hit my ass with such tremendous force, I thought I was going to be thrown through the top of the plane.”

After the war, Baer returned to civilian life and to Los Angeles where he spent 16 years working for the Northrup Corporation. On his first day at Northrup he saved his new employer a lot of money.

“It was left to me to explain to Jack Northrup why the new F-89 jet fighter we were building would have to be modified. Someone had calculated the weight of the fuel as gasoline instead of jet fuel, which is heavier,” Baer explained. “The plane had to be redesigned for bigger tanks in order to meet the Air Corps’ range specifications.”

Baer joined Hughes Aircraft in 1962 where he spent another 12 years before retiring in 1974. He stayed in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

During of his life, Baer spoke at many high school veterans’ programs, talking about his experiences during World War II.

During one such program, a young high school student raised her hand and asked, “Don’t you feel guilty having played a role in the death of all those innocent people at Hiroshima?”

Baer shook his head and replied, “No. I actually feel good about it because I helped save a lot of lives -- including Americans. Those bombs brought a quick end to the War,” he concluded.

Coins & Loans

Problem Solved

from page 6

an essential component of your Lancer. It’s bolted to the vehicle’s underside, where it supports the engine and transmission and aids the suspension system by maintaining stability. A rusting cross member can lead to a catastrophic problem with your car.

But wait, wasn’t your car out of warranty? Technically, yes. But if a Mitsubishi rep asked you to keep the repair records in case it recalled the part, it means there were other cross member problems -- and a recall was likely.

Auto manufacturers like to conduct recall repairs on their terms instead of getting their owners to do the repairs and sending them the bill. That may have delayed your initial payment. You had gone to an outside repair facility (at the recommendation of Mitsubishi), which meant your claim needed to be reviewed and approved manually. There might have been a pandemic delay, too, since this incident happened between 2019 and 2022. But ultimately, there’s no excuse for making you wait more than two years for a check.

I list the names, numbers and email addresses of key Mitsubishi customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have jumpstarted the refund process. Calling Mitsubishi every month was less effective since it doesn’t create a paper trail, and a company can easily ignore any promise made by phone.

I contacted Mitsubishi on your behalf. A claim manager called you with some good news: Mitsubishi finally approved your claim. The car manufacturer didn’t pay out the entire claim, but it covered the recalled item and repair, which you have indicated you’re happy with.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at https://elliottadvocacy.org/help/

© 2023 Christopher Elliott.

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Man About Town

from page 5

We chuckled about our experiences as we left the party for the parking lot and have chuckled about it many times since. Still, there is that nagging feeling way in the back of my mind saying. . .”Geez! What a klutz! Why did I have to say THAT!”

The Price of Health . . .

A couple years ago I wrote about my trip by ambulance to the local hospital? And how I was there about four hours, by which time they had made a correct diagnosis of my ailment (gall bladder attack/ spasms).

Then I got the bill. $13,086.96

Of that, I had to pay $50. Kaiser Permanente took care of the rest.

Some of the more interesting items:

Laboratory $3879.60 (blood work, urine, etc. I think that’s high)

CT Scan/Body $6639.20 (expensive, but found the problem immediately)

ER $1199.90 (no complaint here; they were fantastic!)

IV Therapy $448.60 (ridiculous. One bottle of saline solution, one tube, one needle, one piece of tape to hold it in place).

The ambulance bill was around $2000 (ridiculous!) Medicare paid most of it, my share was $200. (And I didn’t even get a siren!)

Moral: Don’t get sick. If you do, make sure you have good insurance!

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9011731

The name of the business: Jasmine

Thai Massage And Spa, located at 261 Flores Ln., Vista, CA 92083.

Registrant Information: Jarawi Norkhuntod, 261 Flores Ln., Vista, CA 92083. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business: 5/18/2023

/s/ Jarawi Norkhuntod with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County

Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/30/2023

6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9011436

The name of the business: Spices Of Himalaya Indian Cuisine, located at 15731 Bernardo Heights Pky, #103, San Diego, CA 92128.

Registrant Information: Spices Of Himalaya Corporation, 372 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91910. This business is operated by a corporation. First day of business:

5/25/2023

/s/ Dhavalkvmar Jani, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County

Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/25/2023

6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9011408

The name of the business: EB Medical Planning, located at 3738 Via Del Rancho, Oceanside, CA 92056. Registrant Information:

Erika Dickerson Browning, 3738 Via Del Rancho, Oceanside, CA 92056. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business: 5/14/2023

/s/ Erika Dickerson Browning with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County

Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/24/2023

6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9010149

The name of the business:

Trealee8, located at 2120 W. Mission Rd., #240, Escondido, CA 92029. Registrant Information: Marylee Reasononer, 232 Treasure Drive, San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business:

N/A

/s/ Marylee Reasononer with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/8/2023

6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012905

The name of the business: Dr. Leann Nguyen Acupuncture & Herbs, located at 811 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Information:

Leann Nguyen Dr., 309 sunbird Ct., San Marcos, CA 92069. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business:

N/A

/s/ Leann Nguyen Dr. with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County

Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/15/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012582

The name of the business: Chin Up!, Pencil Me In!, located at 425 Prarie Rose Way, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Information: Nathan Williams, 425 Prarie Rose Way, San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business:

6/12/2023

/s/ Nathan Williams with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder

of San Diego on 6/12/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9011744

The name of the business: Happy Paws & Tails LLC, located at 4145 Alabar Way, Oceanside, CA 92056. Registrant Information: Happy Paws And Tails LLC, 4145 Alabar Way, Oceanside, CA 92056. This business is operated by a limited liability company.

First day of business: N/A

/s/ Sarah Sidney Gomez, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/30/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012163

The name of the business: AAI, Alco Alert Interlock, located at 3145 Tiger Run Court Ste 104, Carlsbad, CA 92010. Registrant Information: Clear2drive LLC, 16597 N. 92nd St., Suite A111, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. This business is operated by a limited liability company. First day of business: 5/1/2023

/s/ Daneil Rhodes, Manager with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/5/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012359

The name of the business: Discount Drain.Net Inc. located at 1031 Palm Ave, #4, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Registrant Information: Discount Drain.net, 1031 Palm Ave., #4, Carlsbad, CA 92008. This business is operated by a corporation. First day of business:

3/9/2023

/s/ Demetrio Escamilla, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/7/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9007985

The name of the business: In the Cut Barber and Beauty Lounge, located at 918 Mission Ave., Unit 115, Oceanside, CA 92054.

Registrant Information: Kristy Rogers, 29538 Major League, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 and Tatyanna Lackritz, 6779 Heath Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92011. This business is operated by a general partnership. First day of business: 3/1/2023

/s/ Kristy Rogers with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/11/2023

4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012899

The name of the business: D’ Reyna Boutique, located at 205 W. 5th Ave., Ste. #202, Escondido, CA 92029. Registrant Information: Reyna L. Tello, 827 Hidden View Lane, Escondido, CA 92027. This business is operated by an individual. First day of business: 11/8/2009 /s/ reyna L. Tello with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/15/2023 6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2023-9012623

The name of the business: Waterline Pools And Spas Services, LLC, located at 741 Santa Barbara Dr., San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant

Information: Waterline Pools And Spas Services LLC, 741 Santa Barbara Dr., San Marcos, CA

92078. This business is operated by a limited liability company.

First day of business: 5/1/2023

/s/ Holly Dreeuws, Managing Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/12/2023

6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2023-9013025

The name of the business: Rethink

Opex, located at 1756 Merriam Rd., San Marcos, CA 92078.

Registrant Information: 3 Putt Bogey LLC, 1756 Merriam Rd., San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by a limited liability company. First day of business: 6/1/2023

/s/ Harry Glazer, Managing Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/20/2023

6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2023-9013089

The name of the business: Tile Countertop Solution Repair, located at 429 Daisy Lane, Suite C, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Information: Tile Countertop Solution Repair LLC, 429 Daisy Lane, Suite C., San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by a limited liability company.

First day of business: N/A

/s/ Jose Luis Mendoza Sanchez with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/20/2023

6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2023-9012992

The name of the business: Redwing Audio, located at 2703 Via Festivo, Carlsbad, CA 92010. Registrant Information: Ryan Tyler Robins, 2703 Via Festivo, Carlsbad, CA 92010. This business is operated by a General Partnership. First day of business: N/A

/s/ Ryan Tyler Robins with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/16/2023

6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2023-9013041

The name of the business: Jasmine Masssage Center, located at 313 Killgore Street, Oceanside, CA 92058. Registrant Information: Ramida Herridge, 313 Killgore St., Oceanside, CA 92058. This business is operated by an Individual company. First day of business: 11/17/2014

/s/ Ramida Herridge with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/20/2023 6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20/2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2023-9013141

The name of the business: Skullys Entertainment, located at 413 Autumn Dr., San Marcos, CA 92069. Registrant Information: Skullys Entertainment, 413 Autumn Dr., San Marcos, CA 92069. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business: N/A

/s/ Joshua Hayes, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 6/21/2023 7/6, 7/13,

FICTITIOUS