May 16, 2024

by lyle e davis

Too often we fail to recognize the enormous danger we subject our military to; too often we sit in our air conditioned living room, casually reading of military adventures far, far away.

Seldom are we able to really “feel” what war is like . . . to experience the fear, the near panic attacks that hit . . . when we are the targets someone is trying to kill.

John Stryker “Tilt” Meyer lets us in on that world . . . in his brilliantly

written and edited “Across the Fence.”

“Tilt” Meyer was a Green Beret, one of those highly trained Special Forces personnel who were regularly put in harm’s way.

As you read his accounts of various battle actions while he was on “special assignment” in places we weren’t supposed to be, I have a hunch the hairs on your neck will stand on end as you suffer the same visceral fear he experienced while being chased, attacked, shot at, and watching close friends blown to bits.

Meyer participated in the Secret War in Vietnam . . . a war where our government authorized missions inside Laos and Cambodia privately, but publicly disavowed any knowledge of such missions.

These missions were not only behind enemy lines, they were right in the midst of them. Often, these teams would be surrounded by the enemy . . . usually the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) but sometimes the Viet Cong (the guerilla arm of North Vietnam) as well.

He and his colleagues were part

of SOG (Studies and Observation Group), a specially trained and tasked group consisting of both U.S. Special Forces as well as indigenous troops . . . supported by air support units, including the Kingbee pilots of the 219th South Vietnamese Air Forces’s Special Operations Squadrom, who worked daily with SOG teams on the ground, both in-country and “across the fence.”

They were reconnaissance team members who would be infiltrated into enemy territory and left on their own for days, assigned to scout out enemy strength equipment, and

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troop and supply movement. If and when things got hot they were extracted. During both insertions and extractions, all parties involved were exposed to frequent danger . . . “hot LZ’s,” where the Landing Zones (LZ’s) were already swarming with enemy troops, the extractions where the enemy and its enormous firepower was right on the tails of the withdrawing units.

This then, is the background that sets the scene for stories we’re about to re-tell, taken directly from John Stryker Meyer’s marvelous book, “Across the Fence.”

One Day in the A Shau Valley Wilbur “Pete” Boggs had a problem: he was a man short and the S-3 (Operations Staff; men who planned the missions) brass had given him a target in the A Shau Valley designated A Shau 2. During the middle of July, Boggs, the One-Zero, (Code Name for Special Forces Team Leader; position based on experience, generally; One-Zeroes had final say on teams, including rejecting officers and senior NCOS as team members) had taken ST (Code name for the recon team.) Louisiana on a practice mission to give the entire team a chance to prepare for going to

Give Us This Day Our Daily Chuckle

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

Golf Poetry

In My Hand I Hold A Ball, White And Dimpled...Rather Small. Oh, How Bland It Does Appear, This Harmless Looking Little Sphere.

By Its Size I Could Not Guess The Awesome Strength It Does Possess.

But Since I Fell Beneath Its Spell, I’ve Wandered Through The Fires Of Hell.

My Life Has Not Been Quite The Same Since I Chose To Play This Stupid Game

It Rules My Mind For Hours On End; A Fortune It Has Made Me Spend.

The Young Warrior, John Stryker “Tilt” Meyer - in Vietnam, ready for combat.

It Has Made Me Curse And Made Me Cry, And Hate Myself And Want To Die.

It Promises Me A Thing Called Par, If I Hit It Straight And Hit it Far.

To Master Such A Tiny Ball, Should Not Be Very Hard At All.

But My Desires The Ball Refuses, And Does Exactly As It Chooses.

It Hooks And Slices, Dribbles And Dies, And Disappears Before My Eyes. Often It Will Have A Silly Whim, To Hit A Tree Or Take A Swim.

With Miles Of Grass On Which To Land, It Finds A Tiny Patch Of Sand. Then Has Me Offering Up My Soul, If Only It Would Find The Hole.

It’s Made Me Whimper Like A Pup, And Swear That I Will Give It Up.

And Take To Drink To Ease My Sorrow, But The Ball Knows ... I’ll Be Back Tomorrow.

***

What the Customer Wanted

A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer,”No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks

the Prairie Fire Area of Operation (AO). Instead of the mission simply being a chance to practice contingency drills, live-fire weapons training and night security while in the field, the team made contact with some Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. The skirmish was quick and deadly, and for the One-Two (Code Name for the Recon Team radio operator, usually the latest member to join the team) it was unsettling. Near the end of July, one of the senior NCOs in the FOB 1 (Forward Operating Base) center asked the One-Two if he would be interested in transferring from the spike team to the commo shack. He accepted the offer.

The next day, 1 August, Boggs flew a VR (visual reconnaissance) over the target area and found a primary and alternate LZ (landing zone). When he returned to camp, he was introduced to Tom Cunningham, his new One-Two.

Tom Cunningham was like every Special Forces soldier at FOB 1; he had volunteered to join Special Forces, volunteered to go to South Vietnam, and after arriving in Southeast Asia, volunteered for C&C (Command & Control, field headquarters in Da Nang for SOG missions into Laos, DMZ

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now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.”

Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer, who was walking out the door, and said, “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of week ago.”

Then the manager drew the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it, and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?”

“Rain.”

Other laughable notations:

A man opened his morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend. “Did you see the paper?” asked the first man. “They say I died.”

“Yes, I saw it,” his friend replied. “Where are you calling from?”

How flat is Illinois? Is is so flat, my dog ran away and I could still see him for three days.

It is so flat, one can see for 30

miles. But stand on a tuna fish can, and one can see for 35 miles.

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospitals, dying of nothing.

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Don’t worry about old age--it doesn’t last that long.

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.

“Do Not Touch” must be one of the scariest messages to read in Braille.

Patient: “I have a ringing in my ears.”

Doctor: “Don’t answer!”

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and North Vietnam). Cunningham’s route to SF and SOG, however, was unique.

While attending Advanced Infantry Training at Ft. Ord, California, his orders to proceed to Officer Candidate School upon graduation changed. The Army told the OCS candidates that they had to requalify for OCS based on new criteria. To Cunningham, it appeared as though the Army had changed those rules in order to get more men to go to South Vietnam. When the rule changes were announced, Cunningham was among approximately 200 men who went to the SF recruiter, volunteering to join the Green Berets. He was one of seven men selected from that group.

After completing the first phase of training he went on to Phase II, as he was preparing to become a communications specialist. It was there Cunningham found that commo drove him nuts so he switched to demolitions.

During Phase II he met John Walton, an SF medic from Bentonville, Arkansas. Walton shipped out to Vietnam while Cunningham wrapped up his SF training in Phase III.

When he landed at Cam Ranh Bay, Cunningham learned there were orders shipping him to a conventional Army unit. He wasn’t impressed. The SF liaison told him the only other option open for SF troops at the time was C&C. Cunningham went through the MACV (Miliary Assistance Command, Vietnam) Recondo School at Nha Trang. The training was invaluable. It helped new arrivals adjust to being in-country and got them out into the bush. When the training cadre at Recondo School learned that Cunningham and a few other SF troops were heading to Phu Bai, they gave them extra instruction in immediate action drills and escape and evasion tactics. Cunningham flew to Da Nang, where he and his fellow new arrivals boarded an H-34 Sikorsky. The trip to Phu Bai was unforgettable. The pilots, knowing that Cunningham and his peers were new in-country, flew a few feet above the road, popping up over trucks, dikes and hills along the way to FOB 1. That got everybody’s attention. But it wasn’t over yet.

After flying past the Phu Bai Airport and the Second ARVN training compound, which were located to the east of Highway 1, the H-34 suddenly surged upwards and abruptly rolled to its right in a hard turn, which left the right door of the helicopter facing straight down toward the ground. Before the startled newbies could recov-

er, the Kingbees swooped toward FOB 1, sometimes hitting trees in camp with the front struts of the piston-driven choppers. The Kingbees pulled one more hard right turn and flared dramatically onto the helicopter pad for FOB 1.

Boggs gave Cunningham a tour of the camp and introduced him to the team as the new radio operator. Cunningham talked to the interpreter and met the rest of the indigenous personnel. Phu Bai was everything he had imagined. Boggs took him to S-4 (supply staff) to get his weapon and equipment and announced that the team would be going on a mission soon – very soon. Cunningham was surprised. He hadn’t had a lot of time, but then again, he figured that was the way things operated at FOB 1. That afternoon he was reunited with his friend John Walton, team medic and One-One for ST Louisiana. Boggs told them that he wanted to insert into the target that night at last light. Boggs said the target was a rough mission and he told them to load up on ammo and to carry extra hand grenades. For the next two days the last-light insertions were unsuccessful, due to the weather. On the morning of 3 August, there was a briefing at S-3 for an early morning insertion.

The briefing officer provided a lot of details and history of the target. Cunningham’s impression was that previous missions hadn’t been too successful. Boggs felt they’d be lucky if they got into the target, and if they did, he predicted they’d probably make contact not long after getting on the ground.

Because the mountains were so high and the morning air was clear and heating up, the Kingbee pilots said they would insert ST Louisiana with three helicopters, two men per Kingbee. As the third H-34 was spiraling down to the LZ, the door gunner told Walton that the first Sikorsky had taken some small arms fire. Walton wondered why they were going in if they had already been compromised. The question resurfaced a few seconds later when a few NVA opened fire on his chopper as it flared into the LZ. As far as Cunningham, in the second Kingbee, was concerned, the insert went fine. He assumed Boggs kept the air resources on station a little longer than usual because it was an A Shau target.

The H-34s dropped ST Louisiana on a ridge with a wooded knoll on one end, an open area around it, and jungle on the other side. Boggs headed the team toward the wooded knoll. Walton was next to the tail gunner for the team while Cunningham was behind Boggs in the formation. Because Walton was

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Oodles!

Looking for things to do? Places to go?

Check out Oodles every week for listing of civic and service club meetings, and more! Have an event you need publicized?

Email it to: Lisa.ThePaper@gmail.com

The Paper goes to print on Tuesday morning. You are more likely to get published if you:

• Submit your press release by the previous Friday.

• Keep It Simple: who, what, where, when, why.

• Send us something we can copy/paste. Please no brochures or flyers.

• Send photos as attachments, not embeded in the document.

Veterans Writing Group

May 18 • 11am to 2pm 1617 Mission Ave. • Oceanside Live & Zoom bit.ly/vwgsdzoom

Escondido Library Events

Job Readiness Workshop Series Learn how to build professional and attention-grabbing resumes from San Diego Workforce Partnership in this three-part series. Master interviewing skills to land your dream job.

Job Interview Preparation: Wednesday, May 22 • 4:00–6:00 p.m. Mathes Center Classroom

Resume Reviews & Mock Interviews: Wednesday, May 29 • 4:00–6:00 p.m. Mathes Center Classroom

Register at https://library.escondido.org/register.aspx

½ Price Sale in the Friends Bookshop May 24 & 25

All items in the store 50% OFF marked price (25¢ minimum) Only cash payment accepted.

All events generously sponsored by the Friends of the Escondido Public Library.

LIFE at MiraCosta College A Lifelong Learning Group

Meetings will be held in person at the Mira Costa College, 1831 Mission Ave., Oceanside Campus at 1:00 pm in the Board Room Trailer T200 by the Police Station and by the Internet Application ZOOM.

May 17: 1:00 English Literature at

LIFE Professor Jane Mushinsky

Professor Mushinsky returns to LIFE to discuss the role of continued English literature in a welleducated, well-mannered, wellspoken society.

May 17: 2:30 To Be Announced

May 24: NO SESSION – COMMENCEMENT – MCC CAFETERIA CLOSED

May 31: 1:00 “Harvey Wiley and the Origins of National Food and Drug Controls in the U.S.” John Swann U.S. Food and Drug Administration

This presentation will discuss the sorry state of the U.S. food and drug marketplace in the 19th century, USDA Chief Chemist Harvey Wiley and others efforts, and the early enforcement work under the 1906 Food and Drugs Act.

May 31: 2:30 MAAC’s Pathways of Service Victoria Vazquez, Associate Director of Engagement & Economic Mobility

Let’s get reacquainted with MAAC’s range of social programs as they maximize self-sufficiency with families and individuals through high-quality programs and advocacy in our North County communities To join a Zoom meeting, LIFE must have your email address in order for you to receive the invite link. Meetings will start at 12:45 pm (you can join 15 minutes earlier) and the speaker will start at 1:00 pm.

Email: life.miracosta@gmail.com

To Donate to the LIFE Scholarship Fund: Write a check to MiraCosta College Foundation; Mail it to: 1 Barnard Dr., MS 7; Oceanside, CA 92056. In the memo area put: LIFE Scholarship Fund. Or go to:

Oodles continued on page 14

Vallecitos Water District Opens Native Plant Seed Library

In a world where biodiversity is increasingly threatened, the importance of preserving our planet’s rich tapestry of plant life has never been more apparent. Recognizing the need for action, the Audubon Society launched a groundbreaking program aimed at safeguarding the seeds of our natural heritage: the Native Plant Seed Library. The Vallecitos Water District recently partnered with the Audubon Society to ensure that our botanical heritage remains intact for future generations and supports bird species, pollinators, and other local wildlife.

Nestled within the tranquil surroundings of Vallecitos’ Sustainable Demonstration Garden, you’ll find the District’s newly installed Native Plant Seed Library, which serves as a beacon of hope for conservationists, gardeners, and nature enthusiasts alike.

Here, visitors are invited to explore, take, and plant a treasure trove of seeds collected from native plants across the county. The Seed Library is more than just a repository for seeds; it is a living testament to the power of community and collaboration to protect our natural world.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Seed Library is its focus on indigenous plants.

Vallecitos Water District encourages residents to plant these native plants as they not only benefit the local wildlife, but they also typically use less than half of the amount of water required for most drought-tolerant plants, such as rosemary or lavender. Some of the seeds currently provided in the library include California poppy, black sage, and narrow leaf milkweed, a species that supports the monarch butterfly population. By

Man About Town

Do you know anyone who has suffered from ALS? More commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” this horrific illness has

Nestled within the tranquil surroundings of Vallecitos’ Sustainable Demonstration Garden, you’ll find the District’s newly installed Native Plant Seed Library,

promoting the cultivation of indigenous species, the library seeks to not only preserve biodiversity but also support the health and resilience of local ecosystems. From colorful wildflowers to towering trees, each seed in the library tells a story of adaptation, resilience, and the intricate relationships that bind plants, animals, and humans together in the web of life.

The Native Plant Seed Library Program, launched three years ago by volunteers from the San Diego Audubon Society’s Advocacy Program, addresses the critical lack of native habitat in San Diego County. With 50 Native Seed Libraries established, supported by staff and organizations like the California Native Plant Society (San Diego Chapter), the program educates the community on native plant importance and provides accessible seeds. An interactive map on the San Diego Audubon Society’s website helps locate the nearest library. Users are encouraged to return clean, mature seeds to sustain both plant life and the free libraries. For more details, visit sandiegoaudu-

struck at least four or five folks I have known over the years. None of them survived. Most don’t.

It’s a debilitating disease . . . robbing its victims of muscle strength . . .mobility . . . and enjoyment of life itself.

I was pleased to learn that the ALS Association has partnered with Valley View Casino & Hotel to host the 9th Annual ALS Fiesta Fundraiser. held yesterday at Valley View Casino.

The ALS Association is the largest private funder of research worldwide with a mission to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower power affected by ALS to

bon.org or email nativeseedlibrary@ sandiegoaudubon.org.

Whether you are a seasoned gardener with a passion for native plants or simply curious about the natural world around you, come visit the seed library on at the District’s headquarters at 201 Vallecitos de Oro in San Marcos. Participants can take native seeds from the library as well as free gardening books from the District’s “Little Free Library.” The District stocks this lending library throughout the year with various garden books to inspire residents to adopt a waterwise garden lifestyle. The seed box and garden book library are available during normal business hours.

About Vallecitos Water District: As an independent, special district, Vallecitos is dedicated to providing water, wastewater, and reclamation services to over 105,000 people in a 45-square-mile area that includes San Marcos; the community of Lake San Marcos; portions of Carlsbad, Escondido, and Vista; and other surrounding unincorporated areas.

I have a serious addiction problem along with countless others. I have become totally and irreconcilably addicted to the writings of Friedrich Gomez. Sound melodramatic? Well, get used to it. From politics, world events, to religion, reincarnation, to local regional stories, he does it all and he does it with complete, total mastery! There are times his prose actually moves me to tears. Other times he inspires us all to be a proud Americans, despite what we see on the 6 o’clock news. He once wrote “Not all people are good. And not all countries are perfect. But just remember what Winston Churchill reminded us, as I paraphrase here: Our democracy is the worst form of government in the world . . . except when compared to all the others.” Our country has serious, deep problems (as does everyone else) but we don’t run away and hide from them. We boldly draw a line in the sand and fight for its existence. I salute Lyle Davis, founder of The Paper for his military service. Ditto with columnist Tom Morrow and Paul Van Middlesworth, and Friedrich Gomez. All of you “walked the talk and served our county.” We should forever be grateful for all of you at The Paper. And you’re not a newspaper, you’re a weekly news magazine that has “full-length” cover stories that truly affects us all. We were lucky enough to get the last few remaining copies of this week’s topic on Dementia before Charlie’s Restaurant ran out!

Ken Martin Warren

live their lives to the fullest. Valley View Casino has been a longtime sponsor, believing in and supporting the ALS Association’s mission. It is a widely beloved event that the Valley View team and attendees look forward to every year.

Hopefully, the funds raised yesterday will help in the necessary research to find a cure for this dreaded disease. My congratulations to the ALS Association and to Valley View Casino & Hotel for their superb efforts in combating this major illness!

Spring has finally arrived! I know this because (a) I heard birds singing this morning, looking for a

mate, (b) I am beginning to smell night blooming jasmine . . . with orange blossoms soon to follow, and (c) it has gotten warmer and the nights are not nearly as cold.

Spring took its time getting here but it is more than welcome now!

One cautionary note . . . with the warmer temps arriving we all have to be much more careful about not leaving our pets in a closed up car! The temps, even moderate temps, increase rapidly and dramatically inside a car . . . so much so that temps can soon prove fatal to our pets.

Please, please be extra careful when looking after your pets . . . do NOT leave them in a car! They’re probably the best friends you have!

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still pretty green, having only two or three missions under his belt, he kept his questions to himself. But he did wonder why they went to the knoll instead of the jungle.

Shortly after the team reached the wooded knoll, Boggs told Cunningham to give a team okay, which released all of the air assets assigned to that target. At that point, they hadn’t heard anything. When ST Louisiana moved farther up the knoll Cunningham was amazed at what he saw. There were numerous booby-traps and punji pits set up, he assumed, for spike teams. Fortunately, the traps were old and the team could see each and every one. The team continued to move for a few more minutes before settling into a thickly wooded area on the knoll. Cunningham had difficulty making radio contact with the Covey that was flying several miles away from the area of operation. He finally made contact with an aircraft that had the call sign “Alexander” just as an NVA unit moved past on a trail that cut through the middle of the wooded knoll.

“You’re whispering. Why are you whispering?” Alexander asked.

While Cunningham whispered into his PRC-25, Walton checked out the wooded knoll. It was covered with dense jungle foliage. He observed the point man give a hand sign that there were NVA soldiers in the jungle at the opposite end of the short ridge near the team’s LZ. Walton was sitting at the end of the formation in the thick jungle vegetation with the tail gunner; they both were surprised to hear numerous NVA soldiers moving along the trail.

The noise got the tail gunner’s attention. He focused on the area to his right. Walton was sitting in

front of the him, with the remaining four team members spread out in front of the two of them. As the tail gunner continued to concentrate on the woods to the right, Walton looked past him and saw the bushes shake about ten feet away. One of the NVA soldiers was crawling up their back trail. As Walton swung his CAR-15 toward the enemy soldier, the NVA popped up, AK-47 tucked under his arm. He had a big Cheshire cat grin on his face, knowing he had ST Louisiana dead to rights. The grinning soldier opened fire on full automatic while Walton was still turning.

Four of the NVA’s rounds struck the tail gunner, wounding him severely. Walton’s CAR-15 rounds hit the NVA soldier and drove his body backward into the jungle. With the threat temporarily at bay, he began to patch up the tail gunner. Walton dragged him six feet up the hill towards Boggs, got him stabilized, and started an IV (intravenous) drip of blood expander. Walton asked Boggs for permission to crawl back to the dead NVA to search for documents and anything of intelligence value. Boggs rightfully declined the offer. Moments later, the first NVA wave attack slammed into ST Louisiana. The six-man team repulsed it without taking any further casualties.

Fortunately for ST Louisiana, a flight of 101st Airborne Division gunships was diverted from a target in South Vietnam toward the A Shau Valley. The arrival of the 101st took the pressure off of the team for a few minutes as Boggs popped a smoke grenade and directed several gun runs around the team’s perimeter. Every time they flew past on a gun run, the NVA on the ridgeline would jump up and fire at them. Cunningham crawled to a knoll to get a better view because it was his first contact with the NVA. The dirt in front of his face exploded several times from enemy rounds. Cunningham

suddenly thought maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, so he backed up. Real fast. After a few more close gun runs, the helicopters had expended all of their ordnance and returned to their base of operations at Phu Bai. Cunningham jokingly asked the 101st gunners if they could just come on down and pull them out. They declined, saying the extraction choppers were on the way.

A few minutes later, Cunningham was told the A-1E Skyraiders (Spads, also known as Sandy’s) were on station. Boggs had asked for a napalm run. Walton was sitting next to Cunningham, on his right, and had just finished patching up the last of the tail gunner’s wounds. Both men were near a clearing. Boggs directed the napalm run, which struck the ground at the far end of the open area and moved toward ST Louisiana on the knoll. Walton didn’t think anything about it. Off in the distance he could see the Spad making its run, saw the canister come loose from the aircraft and tumble toward the earth. After the napalm canister hit the ground and exploded, its forward momentum carried a onefoot hunk of burning metal up the knoll and over the open area toward Walton and the team. It stopped right between Walton’s feet. He sat there staring at the burning metal between his legs for several long seconds. Cunningham was amazed at how close the napalm had come without any of it landing on him, even though he and Walton were just a few feet apart. The napalm run forced the NVA to pull back momentarily, but another wave of NVA soon assaulted the team to Cunningham’s left. No one else on the team was wounded. Boggs became concerned about the vacant tail gunner position becoming a vulnerable spot and he ordered Walton to crawl back to where he had killed the first NVA. As Walton moved out in a low crawl, a Vietnamese team member moved into

his position next to Cunningham.

Walton moved to the other side of the perimeter. He had crawled about eight feet, down a slight slope, when a second NVA wave attack hit the team from Bogg’s side near the point. Again, ST Louisiana held. As another wave of NVA moved toward the team, Boggs began to yell to his men that they were being overrun. From his position, only eight feet away, Walton couldn’t see Boggs or Cunningham or the Vietnamese team member who had filled the slot he had vacated. The jungle vegetation was so thick he could only see one or two feet around him. In fact, the foliage was so thick Walton would see the leaves move first to announce an incoming enemy soldier.

During that NVA wave attack, Boggs called in an air strike. He told the Spads to hit ST Louisiana to break the charge. The first 20mm gun run ripped into the NVA and through ST Louisiana’s perimeter. Cunningham was in a world of shit and there was nothing he could do about it. The next thing he knew he was 100 yards away, watching himself get hit twice. One round went through his right leg; one went through the radio on his back. Although the radio was destroyed, it saved Cunningham’s life. Boggs got hit with shrapnel from the exploding PRC-25. The Vietnamese team member who was sitting where Walton had been was killed instantly. The rounds detonated the frag, smoke and CS tear gas grenades on the dead indig. (indiginous eam member, usually Vietnamese) More shrapnel knocked Boggs into semi-consciousness.

The gun run broke the NVA wave attacks against ST Louisiana. It also left the team in a plume of tear gas, and smoke from smoke-gre-

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Lion Hit By Car Recovered After Lifesaving Care At Ramona Wildlife Center

A mountain lion is back in the wild in Central California after spending two months at San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center. The adult male was released by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on May 1, in rural San Luis Obispo County, where he was initially found suffering injuries consistent with being hit by a car. Before release, he was fitted with a GPS collar to monitor his movements.

The mountain lion was first brought to the Ramona Wildlife Center by CDFW on March 4, after he had been triaged at an emergency veterinary clinic in Salinas. The animal had road rash wounds, ticks and burrs covering his fur, a fractured jaw and a broken canine tooth. San Diego

Humane Society’s Project Wildlife team and outside dental consultants repaired the jaw injury and addressed his wounds. A month later, they also performed a root canal on the animal’s upper right canine.

While in recovery, the Project Wildlife veterinary team administered pain medication and kept a close watch on the animal via video cameras to ensure he was eating on his own and moving well enough to survive in the wild. Then, under close guidance from CDFW, the mountain lion was deemed ready for release on May 1. “It’s a remarkable sight to see this majestic animal return to his rightful place in the wild,” said Andy Blue, campus director at San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife

Center. “It truly takes a village to make it happen, from the state’s biologists to our veterinary team and tireless devotion of our wildlife rehab specialists. Every wild animal plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem, so we’re glad he’s back in his natural habitat.”

On average there are one to two mountain lions killed by cars on California’s highways each week. Vehicle strikes, urban encroachment, rodenticide and wildfires all contribute to the death of mountain lions in California.

Helping Young Women Achieve

Encouraging young women to fulfill their life’s potential by taking full advantage of available educational opportunities is one of my passions. As a member of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, I am happy to spread the word about the Minerva Scholarship program, established by the Women in California Leadership Foundation to educate, support and empower young women and girls. The Foundation is committed to providing select young women of good character and demonstrated accomplishments with scholarships to help them achieve their objectives.

Applications for the Minerva Scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year are now available. Up to 108 one-time $3,000 scholarships will be awarded, along with one $10,000 Golden Minerva Scholarship. All female California residents may apply for consideration. Applicants, either graduate or undergraduate, must be enrolled full-time in an accredited college or university for the 2024-2025 academic year, with a minimum GPA of 2.5. While the program is aimed at full-time students, part-time students may apply if extenuating circumstances have resulted in less than a full class load, but an explanation must accompany the application. The scholarship program is also open to previous Minerva

Scholarship winners and graduating high school seniors with proof of acceptance at an accredited institution of higher learning.

The application process is simple. Just fill out the application online, along with a 250-word personal statement and include your resume, enrollment verification or acceptance letter, and two letters of recommendation. All applications and supporting documentation must be received by May 31, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted, and scholarship awards will be announced on July 15th. The application and more information are available at: https://wicl. us/scholarship-program/

All Californians should be able to reach their full potential. Over the last nine years, the Minerva Scholarship program has helped hundreds of California students. I am proud to help ensure that our outstanding young women will be able to take their places among the future leaders of this great state.

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.

5th District Supervisor Jim Desmond Gas Tax Rising Again

As you know, we’re facing a critical situation with soaring gas prices, escalating energy and utility costs, out-of-control housing expenses, and relentless inflation driving up the prices of goods and services. Many of our fellow Californians, including seniors on fixed incomes and hardworking families, are finding it increasingly difficult to afford even the most basic necessities.

With these challenges, it is inconceivable that the State of California is once again moving forward with a gas tax increase. Effective July 1, the Gas Tax is slated to rise by an additional 2 cents, bringing the total tax burden to a staggering 59.6 cents per gallon. This comes at a time when California already has the highest gas prices in the nation, further exacerbating the financial strain on our residents.

According to recent data from AAA, the average cost of gas in California has soared to nearly $5.40 per gallon, a sharp contrast

to the national average of $3.66.

Such disparity is not only unjustifiable but also unsustainable.

We must take immediate action to address this issue. While I personally believe we need a complete suspension of the gas tax, at the very least, we must prevent this impending increase. Our state legislators possess the authority to halt this measure, and they must hear directly from us, their constituents.

I urge each of you to contact your Assemblymember and State Senator and express your concerns about the gas tax hike. Let them know that Californians’ pump burden is already too heavy to bear, and further taxation will only deepen the financial hardship faced by many.

San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond, 1600 Pacific Highway, #335, San Diego, CA 92101, United States http:// www.supervisorjimdesmond.com/

We Love Your Letters

To submit a letter to the editor, please email thepaper@cox.net. Please limit your letter to a maximum of 300 words and include your full name, e-mail address, town, and a valid phone number where you can be reached. Letters will not be published anonymously. Letters are subject to editing. Please no hand written letters.

Join San Marcos for the State of Your Community Event

At the free event, residents will hear an ad-

Andy Johnsen, Superintendent of San Marcos Unified School District.

We invite attendees to join the recreation and wellness resource fair that will kick-off the ‘State of Your Community’ event at 4 p.m. with the program following at 5 p.m. The resource fair will include a selection of local San Marcos recreation and wellness establishments like Stretch U, LVLZ Boxing and many more. Light refreshments will be available at the resource fair.

In her address, Mayor Jones will provide highlights of the past year and focus on topics including: the City’s ongoing effort to encourage residents to rediscover offerings of San Marcos in recreation and wellness, a summary of our flourishing economic development, and ways the City is enriching their ‘Spirit of Service’ for the community. “We have overcome so many unprecedented times with resilience and grit,” said Mayor Rebecca Jones. “We’re continuing our commitment to learn, grow and identify how we can effectively enhance the quality of life our community members experience.”

The ‘State of Your Community’ will rebroadcast on San Marcos TV beginning in early June on Cox Communications Chan-

nel 19. The address will also be available via San Marcos’s YouTube Channel.

“Our residents, businesses, community advocates and City staff are one of the key reasons we are able to thrive and rediscover the wonderful things that are available in San Marcos. I look forward to sharing why San Marcos is the choice city in North County,” continued Mayor Jones.

For more information, please visit www. san-marcos.net .

About the City of San Marcos

More than 93,585 residents, located in the beautiful foothills of northern San Diego County, call the City of San Marcos home. From innovative retail destinations and 72 miles of trails to renowned higher education and 290-acres of parks, San Marcos is rich in resources and civic pride. A leader in public safety, infrastructure, recreation, industry and cultural programs, the City of San Marcos is steeped in discovering life’s possibilities. For more information, please visit san-marcos.net.

The City of San Marcos warmly welcomes residents to attend the ‘State of Your Community’ event on Tuesday, May 21 from 4-6 p.m. at City Hall, 1 Civic Center Drive.

dress from Mayor Rebecca Jones and Dr.

San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones

By Tom Morrow

One of my favorite interviews during my long career was with noted movie star Victor Mature, who for the last 30 years of his retired life lived in Rancho Santa Fe here in North San Diego County.

Victor John Mature, born Jan. 29, 1913, in Louisville, KY, was one of Hollywood’s most successful actors who starred in a variety of musical, suspense, western, and comedy films.

Those under 50 probably aren’t acquainted with Mature’s work, but, to movie buffs like myself he was a top star of more than 70 films. Some of his best known roles include: “My Darling Clementine” (1946), “Kiss of Death” (1947), “Samson and Delilah” (1949), and “The Robe” (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such luminaries as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

Mature studied acting at the Pasadena Community Playhouse and

Historically Speaking

One of Hollywood’s Most Successful Actors

for three years he lived in a tent in the back yard of a fellow student. In 1939 he was spotted by an agent for Hal Roach while acting in a PCP stage play. He made 10 films before World War II.

In July 1942, Mature enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and was assigned to the Cutter Storis, which was part of the Greenland Patrol. After 14 months Mature was promoted to chief petty officer. He was discharged in November 1945.

The first film he did after the War was Director John Ford’s “My Darling Clementine,” in 1946 playing Doc Holliday opposite Henry Fonda’s Wyatt Earp. The film was produced by 20th Century Fox, whose head of production, Darryl F. Zanuck, was delighted Ford cast Mature, telling the director: “Personally, I think the guy has been one of the most under-rated performers in Hollywood.”

In my 1978, interview Mature told me “Clementine” was his favorite movie. “It was a great script and I got to work with a great cast,” he told me.

It wasn’t the only time Mature was cast with great actors. During the ‘30s, 40s, and 50s, he worked with a number of Hollywood’s finest.

The 1947 dark mystery, “Kiss of Death,” was developed specifi-

cally for Mature. The movie wasn’t box office “boffo” but it earned Mature some of his best critical reviews.

Mature was famously self-deprecating. Once, after being rejected for membership in an L.A. country club because he was an actor, Mature told the club manager, “Hell, I’m no actor … I’ve got 64 films to prove it!” He was quoted in 1968 commenting on his acting career: “… I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics.”

And, he had a great sense of humor telling Hollywood stories. During the filming of “Demetrius & the Gladiators” Mature put to use his quick wit between takes when he and a fellow actor walked across the street to a bar for a drink. They were still costumed in battle dress as Roman Centurions. The bar was crowded, and the two actors went unnoticed. After a few minutes being ignored, Mature got up and in a loud voice: “Well, it’s obvious this joint doesn’t cater to (military) service personnel.”

former Oceanside and Carlsbad city manager John Mamaux, told me a side of Mature few people knew about. It had to do with Marine Sergeant John Basilone. After the Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on Guadalcanal, he was brought back home to sell war bonds along with Mature and a number of other celebrities. The two became close friends.

When Mature died of leukemia in 1999, his long-time golfing buddy,

Travel Troubleshooter

by Christopher Elliott

Historically Speaking continued on page 12

Road Scholar Refund: She Wants Her Business Class Ticket Back

British Airways cancels Maureen Kelleher’s flight from Cairo to Boston and rebooks her on a different airline. But it also downgrades her from business class to economy class. Is she entitled to a refund?

Q: I just completed a Road Scholar trip to Egypt. But on the trip home, British Airways canceled my flight four hours before its scheduled departure. My ticket on British Airways was in business class, but British Airways rebooked me on Egyptair in a leftover seat at the back of the plane in economy class. The ticket cost British Airways $416.

I spent $3,000 on business-class airfare. I’d like to get a refund for the fare difference. But so far, both Road Scholar and British Airways have refused. Can you help?

~ Maureen Kelleher, Simsbury, CT

A: Flight cancellations happen. But when they do, you should receive a refund for your downgrade from business class to economy.

British Airways general conditions of carriage, the legal agreement between you and the airline, addresses a change of schedule like the one you experienced. It explicitly says you will get a refund when there is a fare difference and you use the ticket. Road Scholar’s terms and conditions don’t address an involuntary downgrade like the one you suffered.

There are also Department of Transportation rules that have to be followed. It says you’re entitled to a refund if you’re involuntarily moved to a lower class of service. For example, if you buy a firstclass ticket and get downgraded to economy class because of an aircraft change, the airline must refund the fare difference. If your

flight had originated in the United States, DOT rules would have applied.

I think you have a strong case for a refund. So what’s going on here?

I reviewed the paper trail between you and Road Scholar. Since the tour operator had booked your flights, it was responsible for getting your refund, so you went to the right place. But after four months, you weren’t getting anywhere. It was time to call my advocacy team.

I could see no reason for the delay in your refund. In fact, two other members of your party had already filed successful credit card disputes to recover their money. By the way, I don’t recommend doing that as a first step to recovering your money. It’s always better to ask the company for a refund first. You can

find executive contacts for Road Scholar on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

I contacted Road Scholar on your behalf. A representative responded to me shortly after that.

“I’m happy to report that we have resolved the situation with Maureen and are issuing her a refund,” she said. “Her previous complaints had gotten caught up in the wrong department. Thanks for the nudge to escalate so we could get her talking to the right people to resolve her issue.”

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.

© 2024 Christopher Elliott.

Victor Mature

Join Laura Strickler For Reverse Mortgage Lunch ‘n Learn

If you’ve been wondering how to handle the soaring cost of existing in retirement, please join me for a luncheon seminar at Charlies Family Restaurant on Thursday, May 30 th from 11-1. I will be covering all aspects of the reverse mortgage program, from the government insured HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) to the private jumbo mortgages. There are several new reverse mortgage options

in this area that you may not have been aware of before now.

We will discuss all of the requirements to qualify for a reverse mortgage, including occupancy, counseling and the documentation that is required for processing your loan. Please bring your questions and concerns and I will address them. Also, we can schedule a private meeting toreview your personal options.

All of the myths surrounding reverse mortgages will be addressed. We will talk about the many ways this loan program has been utilized. It truly can be designed to fit your needs, it’s up to you how you personalize the way you receive your equity. That being said, with the exception of the new Reverse Mortgage Second program, the reverse mortgage can be the only mortgage on the property.

Seminars provide an open forum to discuss the pros and cons and even

call attention to some aspects you may not have considered. I have 26 seats available and you can also enjoy one of Charlie’s great lunches on me!

Please call to reserve your spot early! 760-518-9839.

Laura Strickler

Reverse Mortgage Advisor

NMLS #315848

760-518-9839

Laurastrickler1@gmail.com www.laurastrickler.com

Will new airline consumer protection rules help you when you fly this summer?

You’ve probably heard about the new airline consumer protection rules that rolled out with a onetwo punch last month. There were so many, it’s almost hard to keep track. And maybe you’re saying to yourself: Finally, I’ll have some rights when I fly.

Please, don’t get too excited.

“It’s a good start,” says Anthony Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, a company that helps consumers file airline complaints.

The new rules address everything from junk fees to refunds, and although they may have some unintended consequences, they could help passengers -- but probably not in time for the summer travel season.

Two new consumer protection rules. The Department of Transportation released final versions of two new rules to protect passengers. One requires airlines to quickly and automatically refund tickets when they cancel or significantly delay your flight. The other makes airlines disclose any fees for checked or carry-on luggage, as well as for changing or canceling a reservation, at the same time they display a fare quote.

States will handle some airline complaints. The federal government also announced a partnership with 18 state attorneys general. The agreement allows states to investigate airlines and ticket agents and hold them accountable when they violate aviation consumer protection laws.

New refund laws and minimum seat sizes. The final version of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill contains a new rule that would require airlines to refund a domestic flight if it’s delayed more than three hours. For international flights, it’s six hours. It prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together. Also on deck: a requirement that the FAA take another look at minimum seat sizes.

The new DOT rules go into effect in late June but have an implementation period of 6 to 12 months. And some, like the seat standards, might never happen. So don’t expect to see new junk fees disclosed or to get a lightning-fast refund this summer. Next summer, maybe.

At least one of the rules may backfire, warn travel experts. Among the consumer protections is a requirement that a merchant of record must issue a refund for an airline ticket. That means unless you booked a ticket directly with the airline, your travel advisor -- not the airline -- would be responsible for a prompt ticket refund. In other words, the money would come out of your advisor’s pocket and then force the agent to negotiate with the airline for the money.

“I’m already seeing travel advisors who had been providing flight booking services to their clients, who are now choosing not to offer that service,” says travel advisor Brandi Taylor. “This will be a major inconvenience to consumers.”

So this summer, if you’re booking

a trip through a travel advisor, they might tell you to buy the airline tickets yourself. They don’t want to be on the hook for refunding the money your airline has already received for your flights.

That’s not the only problem. There’s a conflict between the FAA bill and DOT’s new rule requiring automatic cash refunds for flight cancellations and delays. Congress doesn’t want the refund to be automatic. Bill McGee, a senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project, says a lot of money is at stake in unpaid refunds.

“Airline lobbyists are fighting tooth and nail to ensure the onus remains on consumers to jump through hoops, rather than having carriers issue automatic refunds,” he says. “The DOT has stepped up to protect passengers. Now it’s time for Congress to do the same.”

Asked about which rules would take precedence in the event of a conflict, a DOT spokeswoman said the agency’s rule is “solidly rooted in DOT’s legal authority.” So if there’s a conflict the DOT rule would prevail. (Late last week, it appeared Congress was poised to adopt language to allow for automatic refunds under certain circumstances.)

Will these consumer rules really help you?

“I’m skeptical,” says Steven Rothberg, the founder of a job search site in Edina, Minn.

Like many experienced air trav-

elers, he’s seen this kind of thing before. The government promises protections, people get excited -- and then there’s no meaningful follow-through.

Take seat sizes, for example. Airline seats are too small for the average passenger. So in 2018, Congress required the FAA to set minimum seat sizes. But to this day there is no minimum seat standard, forcing air travelers to wedge themselves into tiny economy class seats.

There are worries that airlines will also find a quick way around all these new rules, leaving passengers unprotected.

Travelers have every reason to be concerned. Airlines are clever and often find ways around new government rules. For example, if the government requires the disclosure of a junk fee like baggage charges, airlines will come up with a new charge not covered by the regulation to make up for it. It’s a catand-mouse game, and the airlines always seem to have the upper hand.

So what’s likely to happen? In the short term, not much.

Jonathan Feniak, a frequent traveler and attorney, says airlines will stall for as long as possible.

“I don’t expect airlines to adopt the new rules until they absolutely have to,” he says. “Especially dur-

Laura Strickler

Rules from page 8

ing one of their busiest seasons, when delays and cancellations are bound to happen.”

He says some forward-looking airlines may decide to adopt some of the requirements early, but it will also take some time for passengers to learn about their new rights.

On balance, he says the changes are a significant upgrade.

There’s some doubt the government will effectively enforce the new rules.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), which is in charge of enforcing the existing consumer rules, hasn’t issued an enforcement action since December. It’s one of the longest stretches of time without such action in years.

Think of enforcement actions as traffic tickets. And now there’s a perception that airlines can get away with anything, according to Radchenko of AirAdvisor. Out of almost 300 complaints he filed in the last year, he says DOT has not made any decision or issued enforcement action.

In order for the new rules to work, he says the government must have

prescribed penalties for airlines that ignore or fail to comply with such rules.

The bottom line for passengers is that almost none of the consumer protections will help make your summer flight better. It may even be too soon for your Thanksgiving flight, and if there’s a change of administration this November, some of these rules may never be implemented.

The gold standard for consumer protection, at least according to consumer advocates, is a rule in Europe called EC 261. It requires airlines to assist passengers and compensate them when they’re denied boarding or their flights are canceled or delayed.

For now, you have the same rights you always did when you fly in the U.S., which is to say, not that many.

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.

Pastor Huls

The Pastor Says . . .

Hobbies

I recently returned from a trip to Michigan after visiting some family relatives. I was amused by their intense interest in one of their hobbies: viewing the fields near their home for wildlife, including wild turkeys and deer. Even though they have seen hundreds of wild turkeys and deer, they are still curious about their appearance. Their interest is in the sexes and size of these fascinating creatures. It is a very rewarding hobby of theirs, and I enjoyed sharing it with them.

My appreciation for hobbies is heightened with my own. Presently, I have a hobby of raising flowers in pots on my patio. Watching the plants grow and bloom is a daily fascination and enjoyment. The flowers in pots are only one of my hobbies. I have gardening and beekeeping, fishing, and reading, just a few. These hobbies, which take time and care, give me a perspective on life, which helps me cope with all the demands and struggles in my daily life.

One of the challenges in my Naval career was to help those retiring to adjust to a new era in life. The emphasis was to seek out new interests and possibilities in a new period of life. I was surprised to find many men and women, though they had careers in the military, had a few other interests. To help them adjust to their new life, I gave them a list of possible hobbies to consider. The rewards and seeing these new interests were worth the effort.

There are always many more things to fill our lives with than the profession of making a living, especially in retirement, such as reading and writing. For some, it is an interest long set aside, such as cooking, playing a musical instrument, gardening, or singing. And yes, it could be to have a better understanding of God by reading the Bible. Taking a Bible study class or even attending a worship service. Such was my experience recently. I conduct a weekly worship service for a retirement community every Sunday. A recent retiree, a former university professor, attended the service, something he avoided for most of his life. Now, in retirement, he wants to add this spiritual aspect to his life, hopefully, more than a hobby, but possibly a new dimension in the remaining years of his life. It all began with exploring the hobby of attending a church service.

Call 760-746–6611 for council, inspiration, and a thought for the day.

Sunshine is pet of the week at Rancho Coastal Humane Society.

She’s a 1-1/2-year-old, 13-pound, female, Chihuahua mix.

Sunshine was transferred from a rescue partner in Riverside County through Friends of County Animal Shelters (FOCAS). She can be slow to warm up, but with a gentle approach you’ll be best friends in no time.

The $145 adoption fee for Sunshine includes medical exam, spay, up to date vaccinations, registered microchip, and a one-year license if her new home is in the jurisdiction of San Diego Humane Society.

For more information visit Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, call 760-753-6413, or log on to www.SDpets.org.

San Diego Humane Society is supporting families and their pets who need a little extra help.

Through the Community Pet Pantry, anyone can visit our campuses to pick up a bag of dog or cat food, and other supplies, as available.

No appointment is needed for this service. Hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

El Cajon 373 N. Marshall Ave.

Escondido 3500 Burnet Drive

Oceanside 572 Airport Road

Pastor Huls

San Diego 5480 Gaines Street

Pet of the Week

Meet Quila, a loving young pup with a bright future ahead! Just 3 months old, Quila hasn’t had the easiest start in life, but that hasn’t stopped him from showing off his exuberant personality. Quila came to the shelter with a fracture on his back leg, which is thankfully healing very well thanks to medical care and rest! This sweet pup’s siblings have already found new homes, and now Quila is hoping it’s his turn soon. His zest for life and loving nature will make him a perfect companion for a home that can provide him with lots of love, care and chances to play as he grows! Quila (900836) is currently in a foster home, so call San Diego Humane Society’s Escondido Campus at 619-299-7012 to learn how you can bring him home! Through May 15, adoption fees are just $25 for dogs and cats of any age — like Quila — thanks to BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters!

Online profile: https://www.sdhumane.org/adopt/available-pets/animal-single.html?petId=900836

The Computer Factory

845 W. San Marcos Blvd. 760-744-4315 thecomputerfactory.net

As a concept IW (Intelligent Web) is not that difficult to understand. Simply stated it is the application of AI (artificial intelligence) to the WWW (World Wide Web) data base, which contains to majority of human knowledge. Prior to the arrival of the IW in 2001, humans relied predominately on our own internal data storage and cognitive abilities to make decisions.

When we felt our own internal resources to be wanting, we turned to others for advice. In recent millennia we also had additional resources like recorded data in print form. Then, in 2001, the IW arrived and initiated the most profound change in the history of mankind. The alphabet soup of terms like LLM, GPT, Open AI, NLP, NN, DL and

This Critter Corner started as a list of safety tips for pet owners as fire season approaches. But my Google search led me to a Smoke report from PetHealthNetwork.com. It said that, while most people understand that smoking is bad for them, very few realize that it’s also harmful for their pets.

Dogs and cats are possibly more susceptible to secondhand smoke than their owners. The part of the smoke that causes cancer is heavier than air. When you exhale, the bad stuff settles down at the level

The “Brave New World” of the IW (intelligent Web)

dozens more infect this technology. They are similar to the medical terms for the components of our own cognitive system. They are understood and useful only to the practitioners in their respective technologies and not to the users. Just as we don’t need to know which area of our brain is providing our current thought pattern, we don’t care what digital technology is scanning the WWW data base to provide an answer to a question.

Mankind has found a way to bypass the limitations of his own memory and cognitive ability. We have created a technology that has the potential to “do our thinking for us.”

The human brain is only 2% of our body mass but consumes nearly 20% of our body’s energy budget. While the IW is only in its infancy, it already offers a seductive alternative to thinking. Using the IW instead of our own minds provides better answers because the WWW has a far larger data base than our internal memory and its logic engine is free from our internal biases and fears. It sounds like a win/ win alternative.

You, the majority of “The Paper” readers, are over 40 and reached adulthood prior to the ubiquity of the IW. You built your knowledge and biases without the influence of the IW. You learned from observation and experience. Your main influencers were parents, friends, teachers and books. The IW opened up a whole new World to you. It made it easy to expand your internal knowledge base, to shop, to travel to keep

up to date with friends and family. The IW made the things you were accustomed to doing easier. The IW put the world at your fingertips, it expanded your horizons.

For the transition generations (DNs or Digital natives) who grew up with the IW, those formative years were very different. Spending half their waking hours connected to the Internet reduced their limited exposure to face to face social interaction and other direct learning experiences. This limited exposure to normal human interaction and reliance on the AI of the IW for decision making may be having measurable effects on young adults. Recent IQ test scores show a first ever drop in cognitive ability as younger Americans get answers from the IW instead of “figuring things out”. Psychologists are registering concerns about anxieties and other behavioral problems at-

tributed to sociological deprivation from reduced human interaction.

The DNs are not dumber. IQ tests measure only internal cognitive ability. It cannot measure the positive effect of internalizing an external resource like the IW as a substitute for internal cognition. Using an external asset (the IW) as a substitute for internal cognition leads to lower IQ scores based on the “use it or lose it” principle. To the DNs, this is not a matter of concern.

Those of us alive today who were born between 1930 and 1980 may have the honor of being the last in human history to primarily rely on our internal cognitive abilities for survival. As computers and cell phones are replaced by new implantable devices providing instant access to universal knowledge and wisdom, we can take solace in the fact that we are the last of the Dodos.

Before you give up on your “old” PC, check out the cost of an upgrade.

Solid State Drive (SSD) - windows 10/11 - more memory (RAM) - Faster Internet - Bluetooth/Wifi, better/biger monnitor - external speakers - external CD/RW - wireless keyboard and mouse - etc.

John Van Zante’s Critter Corner

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire (and Fur)

where our pets live. The toxins drop onto our pets’ fur, the floor, and the furniture.

Our pets groom themselves with their tongues. When they lick or chew their fur or skin, they swallow the chemicals from the smoke.

Third Hand Smoke is the bad stuff created by secondhand smoke.

One Veterinarian said, “I ask my tobacco-loving clients to bring in pet bedding, covers or sheets. The foul odor, yellow staining and grungy feeling are confirmation of toxic, thirdhand smoke.”

• Tufts University found that cats living with smokers are twice as likely to develop feline cancer.

• University of Minnesota found that cats who live with smokers have nicotine and other toxins in their body fluids.

• Colorado State University found a higher incidence of nasal tumors and sinus cancer in dogs living with

smokers with higher rates in short to medium nosed dogs.

• Dogs in smoking households have a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer.

This is Critter Corner. I’m not going to tell you whether to stop smoking. What I will do is give you these tips to help protect your pets if you or someone else in your home smokes.

• Go outside. Smoking only outdoors.

• Use an air purifier.

• Change your clothes, wash them, or air them outside.

• Wash your hands after smoking, and before you touch pets.

• Keep ashtrays clean and away from your pets.

• Dispose of cigars, cigarettes,

nicotine gum, patches, snuff, smokeless tobacco, etc. where your pets can’t get to them.

Looking for reasons to quit?

• Your health

• The expense

• Maybe the strongest motivator to quit smoking is for your pet’s health.

Fence from page 5

nades, weapons fire and the earlier napalm run. The NVA probably felt the conditions around the team perimeter were far more deadly than facing the gun runs from the Spads and gunships. Walton performed a quick triage on Boggs and Cunningham. He found that while the explosion of the 20mm round had left only a single piece of flesh holding the leg together, it had seared a good portion of Cunningham’s wounded right leg, actually helping the situation by keeping the loss of blood to a minimum. The medic pulled out a green cravat for a tourniquet. He used his knife to twist the bandage tight above the stump to stem any further bleeding. Walton also treated Cunningham for severe throat burn from the CS gas.

Realizing the PRC-25 had been destroyed, Walton reached into his pocket and pulled out the URC-10 emergency ultra-high frequency radio and called Covey. He reported one dead, three wounded and that if Covey was going to get them out, he had to do it ASAP. Walton didn’t have the luxury of spare seconds to think about the short distance he had crawled earlier. Those eight to ten feet had saved his life.

Cunningham, still watching himself from far away, heard someone on a radio calling Covey saying there were two dead. He thought he’d better find out whether or not he was alive. The Green Beret had a unique test to find out. He yelled. It sounded like it was far, far away, but he knew that he was alive. The yell also ended Cunningham’s outof-body experience. He returned to his body lying on the ground. Cunningham knew that he had to help himself. The more he did, the better it would be for everyone.

While Walton worked to save Cunningham’s life, Covey directed a series of deadly air strikes around the knoll where ST Louisiana was fighting for its life. Walton returned to the UCR-10 to tell Covey that two of the three wounded were in serious condition and requested an immediate extraction. Covey rider Pat Watkins told Walton to move the remainder of the team closer to the open area along the ridge.

Back at FOB 1, most of the spike team members were either huddled around their PRC-25s listening to Covey talking to ST Louisiana members, or in the comm center, where they monitored more frequencies. When the first reports rolled in from Covey about ST Louisiana’s situation, the team sounded doomed.

In the A Shau Valley, the air strikes gave ST Louisiana a brief lull in the fighting, enabling Walton and

the one remaining unwounded Vietnamese team member to move the wounded closer to the clearing. Watkins told Walton that he was going to direct a series of strafing runs by Air Force F-4 Phantom jets and that the first Kingbee would land to pick up the most seriously wounded and that a second and third H-34 would extract the remainder of the team.

Walton and the Vietnamese team member moved the tail gunner out from the tree line into the grassy area, while Boggs assisted Cunningham. As soon as the NVA heard the Kingbee, the activity picked up again. The wounded were moved out to the open area where the grass was only six inches tall. There were constant dirt spurts kicking up all around from enemy gunfire. Captain Thinh piloted the first Kingbee and landed with the right strut only a few feet from the wounded members of ST Louisiana.

There were only three times Cunningham really felt pain that day: the first time was when he got hit. He said later that his body felt like one of those huge Chinese gongs as the shock waves reverberated throughout it. The second time was when Boggs was helping him back to the landing zone. The wounded leg got caught on a tree. He immediately knew what they meant when they said pain has colors. Cunningham saw a rainbow of color. The third time occurred at the H-34. Boggs assisted Cunningham to the steps of the Kingbee, but he turned around to fire at the charging NVA. Cunningham didn’t want to get shot in the back, so he used his stump to climb aboard the H-34. He crawled to the back of the chopper, thinking he was finally safe. The Kingbee lifted off.

About the same time, Walton realized that the second Kingbee wasn’t heading toward the LZ as planned and that the NVA continued to pour heavy small arms fire toward Walton, Boggs and their brave Vietnamese counterpart. Walton knew why the plan called for using three Kingbees for extraction; the weather was hot and the LZ was on a mountain range in the A Shau Valley. The heat and the height of the mountains reduced the lift capabilities of the helicopters, especially in the hot morning sun. Because of this, the first chopper took only two team members – the most seriously wounded – Cunningham and the tail gunner. Walton radioed Watkins, asking where the second Kingbee was and Watkins told him the pilot wouldn’t go into the LZ because there was too much enemy ground fire.

Walton felt sick. The question of weight had forced the team to leave the dead Vietnamese team member behind. His added weight might hinder the chances of the

living team members being successfully exfiltrated. Walton and his counterpart scanned the sky for a helicopter. None were in sight. The NVA continued to maneuver toward the exposed trio from ST Louisiana. Walton knew the situation looked pretty bleak.

“Kingbee go down.” It was Captain Thinh! He already had their wounded aboard and Walton knew there was no way he could pull them all out. But the Kingbee came spiraling down on full autorotation before flaring into the LZ. Thinh plunked it down on the ground right next to the remaining members of ST Louisiana.

Walton and the Vietnamese lifted Boggs aboard the Kingbee and then moved to the open windows on the starboard and port sides to fire at the NVA, some of whom rushed the aircraft.

Sure enough, the load was too heavy and Thinh couldn’t lift off. So he lifted the back wheel off the ground and started rolling downhill, gaining as much air speed as possible, while the NVA fired at the chopper. At the last possible moment, Thinh nursed the aging Sikorsky over the trees. Unfortunately, the chopper didn’t have enough speed to gain the altitude needed to fly out of the mountains so Captain Thinh dipped down into a valley to build up more. Finally, he got the transitional lift he needed to climb out of the mountains and out of the A Shau Valley.

Because Cunningham had used the stump to get aboard the helicopter, it had started to bleed heavily. He began to fade in and out of shock, never fully passing out. It was obvious he would have to tough it out. Walton used another cravat as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Walton had only carried one IV with him that day and he had used that one on the wounded tail gunner. From that day forward, Walton always carried several IVs on all targets.

When the Kingbee landed at the medical facilities in Phu Bai, Cunningham was taken out of the chopper, as he put it, bare-assed naked. He remembered some doctor saying the tourniquet was too high. Cunningham couldn’t believe it. His leg had been blown off above the knee and they were worried about a tourniquet being too high.

When Walton and the Vietnamese team member carried the wounded Vietnamese team member into the Army medical facility, someone told Walton that they didn’t treat Vietnamese. Walton told them to treat that Vietnamese or there would be hell to pay.

For Walton, the drama continued.

from page 7

Mature worried about his buddy, fearing Sergeant Basilone had a death wish. At nearly every war bond show the Marine would go on stage and angrily address the audience, yelling he shouldn’t be wasting his time trying to entertain them, rather, he should be “over in the Pacific killing (the enemy)!”

The Marine Corps did it’s best to keep Basilone out of harm’s way. When Basilone wasn’t selling bonds, the Corps had him working in Special Services as a beach lifeguard at Camp Pendleton. But the sergeant complained enough about sitting around and wanting to go back into combat, he finally was issued orders to return to the Pacific.

Chief Petty Officer Mature nearly got in trouble because of his loud protests to the Marines for sending Basilone back into combat.

“Vic was certain Basilone had a death wish saying he shouldn’t be sent back,” Mamaux recalled. “Vic talked about Basilone countless times over the years I knew him. He did his damnedest to save Basilone. He raised so much hell with the Marine general who was Basilone’s commander that Vic almost got a court martial.”

In February 1945, Basilone landed on Iwo Jima, charged and captured a Japanese bunker single-handedly, but soon after was killed by a mortar round. He received the Silver Star posthumously.

Mature may not have earned an Oscar in Hollywood, but he should always be remembered for the role he played trying to save a true American hero.

Starring in more than 70 films, Victor Mature was truly a super star. Today, most of his films are available on the popular Internet streaming service “Classic Reel.” For the fan of vintage movies, using that service is an inexpensive way for enjoying old movies like we did in theatres ... with no commercials.

Fence from page 12

When they got Cunningham inside, he was barely hanging on, due to the loss of blood and trauma from the amputation. One of the young doctors got nervous. He had never had a dirty, sweaty grunt from just out of the field sticking his nose into his business. When Cunningham’s blood pressure was so low they couldn’t get an IV into him, Walton told the doctor to do a cutdown: cut into the vein, expose it, stick a catheter into it and tie it off with a suture. The doctor soon realized the medic wasn’t leaving.

Later that night, after Walton had showered and shaved, he was playing poker in the Green Beret Lounge at FOB 1. Being left-handed, when Walton dealt a hand of poker he held the deck in his right hand. As he dealt the cards around the table, someone noticed a flesh wound across his right wrist. Walton was asked what had caused the wound. As Walton puzzled over the crease in his wrist, the poker game came to a temporary halt. Most of the men playing that night were on spike teams or were Covey riders and had spent time on the ground. Finally, Walton said that during contact with the grinning NVA soldier who shot the ST Louisiana tail gunner, one of the rounds from his AK-47 had creased Walton’s wrist as he was turning his body toward the NVA soldier to kill him. Everyone sat there for a second, amazed at how close Walton had come to being shot and just how fortunate he was that the NVA’s round hadn’t inflicted a more serious wound.

MIGHTY MOJO

Walton just shrugged his shoulders and the game continued.

Early Sunday morning, several of the guys from FOB 1 drove over to the hospital area to visit Boggs, Cunningham and the tail gunner. Cunningham was asleep, but Boggs wanted to get back to work, although he had many bandages on his face, arms and chest. They slipped him a bottle of his favorite whiskey and talked in general terms about what had happened on Saturday. Boggs focused on Walton’s efforts, Cunningham’s stoicism and Kingbee pilot Captain Thinh’s fearless and amazing extraction. Later, Colonel Jack Warren, the commander of C&C and FOB 4, and several other SOG officials visited the survivors. They asked Cunningham if there was anything he needed. They left him cigarettes, and Gordon Martin, a SF medic from FOB 1, gave him his lighter. That was one of the few things that went with Cunningham when he finally left Nam.

* * *

During an interview in July 2002, Cunningham said, “You can do everything right or wrong and it doesn’t matter. Life’s a matter of inches.” During his morning in the A Shau Valley, he was carrying an extra pouch of hand grenades, just as Boggs had instructed him. It hung below the pouches attached to his web gear, down the side of his leg. The 20mm round that severed his leg missed it by only a few inches. “Had that round hit those grenades, Pete and I would have

been history that day, right there in the A Shau Valley.”

What you have just read is but one chapter in a book that has 16 chapters, each chapter just as exciting, as frightening as this one.

This is a book that anyone who has an interest in military history, in brilliant writing, in a chronicle of the wars we have fought . . . with an up close and personal look . . . well, you need this book in your library.

I’ve read a lot of military books. I’ve been a passionate reader and writer of military tales for as long as I can recall.

This is one of the best written, most exciting, books I have ever read.

For years I worshipped the work of Ernie Pyle, the famous World War II war correspondent. I used him as a model for the stories I wrote while covering the Vietnam War back in 1967 and 1968. I even stopped at the Punchbowl Cemetery to visit his grave.

And now, John Stryker Meyer. I had followed “Tilt’s” columns when he wrote for the North County Times and always enjoyed his work. We got to know each other and became fast friends.

One more example of the dangerous assignment Tilt had was when he was being pursued by NVA soldiers. He hid behind some bushes:

Then it happened. During one windy moment, I heard move-

ment very close to me. It was only a slight sound, but a sound nonetheless. Before the wind stopped, the NVA soldier touched the sole of my size 10 R Army-issue jungle boot. I heard a slight gasp of surprise from him. At that moment, I had a death grip on my CAR-15. I had it on single shot. A CAR-15 on full automatic sounds much different from the bark of an AK-47 on full automatic. If I had to shoot, it would be single shots. For a millisecond I wondered if my left foot was far enough to the left so that when I fired, I wouldn’t shoot myself. Time stood still. My pucker factor was minus zero. After a few of the longest seconds in my life, the wind stirred, but there was no movement. He remained still.

After what felt like an eternity, the wind stirred again and I heard the NVA move backward just slightly. He was so cool. I knew he was still facing me. I wondered why I couldn’t hear his heart.

The jungle around us remained pitch black.

I’m happy to report the NVA soldier withdrew . . . and Tilt lived to fight another day.

To get an idea where Tilt’s mind is today, we recently sat in our family room and I asked him if he ever hunted.

“No,” he said. “I’ve been hunted. I know what it’s like. It’s not for me.”

He didn’t need to say anymore. I understood.

Oodles from page 3

https://foundation.miracosta.edu/ donatenow and you can donate online. There is a “drop down” box to indicate the donation will be credited to the LIFE Scholarship Fund.

* Speaker has books or CDs for sale.

***

Escondido & San Marcos City Council Candidate Forum

May 21 • 6pm

The public is invited to attend a Candidate Forum for the City of Escondido and the City of San Marcos City Council seats. The Forum is sponsored and moderated by LAPA – the Latin American Political Association of San Diego on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the Escondido Civic Center’s Mitchell Room beginning at 6pm. The Candidates participating in the Forum are for Escondido City Council: District 3, Christine Spencer and incumbent Christian Garcia, District 4, Judy Fitzgerald and Steven Holden. For San Marcos City Council: District 3, Danielle LeBlang and Alan Geraci. Questions may be submitted that evening or emailed to delores.lapa@gmail. com by 9pm on Friday, May 17, 2024. (LAPA is a non-partisan political organization.)

Vista’s Moonlight Theater 2024 Concert Series

The Moonlight Concert Series is ecstatic to expand in 2024 with more tribute and headlining acts than ever before! Check out the full lineup and purchase your tickets today.

Concert Lineup

May 23: Mariachi Divas

May 24: So Good! The Neil Diamond Experience starring Robert Neary

May 25: The Sounds of the 60’s Tour: The Drifters, The Platters & The Coasters

June 27: ABBA-Mania: The Best of ABBA

June 28: Chicago Nights starring Jason Scheff

June 29: The Midtown Men: Stars from the Original Broadway Cast of Jersey Boys

August 1: José Feliciano & Tito Puente Jr.

August 2: Yesterday & Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience

August 3: 90’s House Party: Kid ’n Play, Tone Loc, Rob Base, Young MC

October 3: Dream Like Taylor: A Live Band Journey through the Enchanted Eras of Taylor Swift

October 4: When Disco was King: Featuring Former Members of the Village People

October 5: Dead Man’s Party: Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman

Tribute

Ticket Prices

Ticket costs vary depending on event type and seat selection.

Orchestra $45-$95

Reserved $35-$68

Fringe $35-$68

Reserved Lawn $35-$68

Gen Lawn $25-$58

Discount Packages

Interested in attending multiple shows? Get the best value by purchasing a concert package and receive a discount! Discounts will automatically be applied when ordering online.

3-5 Concerts = 10% discount

6-10 Concerts = 15% discount

11+ Concerts = 20% discount

Questions? Call our box office: 760.724.2110. Customer Service hours are noon to 5 pm weekdays.

Purchase tickets online at https:// my.moonlightstage.com/events

Oceanside Independence Parade June 29 • 10am

On Saturday, June 29, the 28th Annual Oceanside Independence Parade will honor local leaders and community members. This years’ parade theme is “Celebrating Our Heritage,” highlighting our community’s cultural roots. Sponsors of the parade include the City of Oceanside, County of San Diego

Community Enhancement Grant, and Genentech. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at the intersection of North Coast Highway and Wisconsin Avenue and travel north on Coast Highway to Civic Center Drive. More than 100 parade entries are expected to march, roll, walk and drive down historic Highway 101.

Oceanside Independence Parade participant applications are now open! Participants can sign up to walk their party or drive their float down Coast Highway. We are accepting businesses, community organizations, nonprofits, car/motorcycle clubs, elected officials, and more.

Three Hometown Heroes will be recognized during this year’s Oceanside Independence Parade. There will also be a ceremony awarding the floats embracing our theme most. This year will focus on cultural impacts within our Oceanside community. We are asking our community to nominate three community members that deserve to be named “Hometown Heroes.”

A local tradition since 1892, the Oceanside Independence Parade is made possible by the assistance of over 100 volunteers. To participate or volunteer in the parade, complete the parade or volunteer application at www.oceansideparade.com.

https://www.mainstreetoceanside. com/independence- parade

Weekday Wellness & Fun for Seniors 11am - Noon

McClellan Senior Center

Calling all seniors! Looking for a way to add some excitement to your weekdays? Look no further! From 11 am until noon, join us at the McClellan Senior Center for a variety of engaging activities designed just for you!

• Unleash your creativity in our lively art class on Mondays.

• Test your luck and socialize with friends in a thrilling game of bingo on Tuesdays.

• Enjoy some friendly competition with games and cards on Wednesdays.

• Keep your mind sharp with trivia and brain games on Thursdays.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect, have fun, and make new memories with fellow seniors. Mark your calendars and join us for a fulfilling and enjoyable time at McClellan Senior Center! For more information, call 760.643.5288.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009100

The name of the business: Todd Travis Design Group, Travis Design Group, located at 1930 W. San Marcos Blvd., #153, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Travis Ultravisions Inc., 1930 W. San Marcos Blvd., #153, San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by a Corporation. First day of business: N/A /s/ Todd Travis, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/26/2024

5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9008536

The name of the business: J&C Cleaning Service, located at 1260 Borden #17, Escondido, CA 92026. Registrant Victoria Vergara, 1260 Borden Rd. #17, Escondido, CA 92026. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Victoria Vergara with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/18/2024

5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009440

The name of the business: Suspension Plus, located at 322 El Camino Real Suite E, Bonsall, CA 92024. Registrant Investment LLC, PO Box 500783, San Diego, CA 92150. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company. First day of business: N/A /s/ Efren G. Abrego, General Partner with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/2/2024

5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9008692

The name of the business: Valle Verde Social Club, Valle Verde Residents Activity Club, located at 1286 Discovery St., San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Frank Hampton Johnson, 1286 Discovery St., Spc 29, San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 1/1/2024 /s/ Frank Hampton Johnson with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/22/2024 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009111

The name of the business: Destination Yoga, located at 3428 Cameo Dr., #54, Oceanside, CA 92056. Registrant Diana Stein, 3428 Cameo Dr., #54, Oceanside, CA 92056, Erich Stein, 3428 Cameo Dr., #54, Oceanside, CA 92056. This business is operated by a Joint Venture. First day of business: 4/26/2024 /s/ Diana Stein with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/26/2024 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009928

The name of the business: Kindness Janitorial Services LLC, located at 5915 Rio Valle Dr., Bonsall, CA 92003. Registrant Kindness janitorial Services LLC, 5915 Rio Valle Dr., Bonsall, CA 92003. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company. First day of business: 5/8/2024 /s/ Alejandro R. Perez, Manager with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/8/2024 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009976

The name of the business: Morgan’s World, located at 305 Tamarack Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008. Registrant Morgans World LLC, 305 Tamarack Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company. First day of business: N/A /s/ Morgan Gardiner, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/8/2024 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME: 2024-9009057

In The Cut Barber & Beauty Lounge, located at 918 Mission Ave., Ste 115, Oceanside, CA 92054. The Fictitious Business Name referred to above was filed in San Diego County on 4/11/2023 and assigned file no. 2023-9007985.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IS BEING ABANDONED BY: Kristy Rogers, 29538 Major League, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530, Tatyanna Lackritz, Heath Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92011. This business is conducted by a general partnership. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1000).

/s/Kristy Rogers, General Partner

This statement was filed with the San Diego Recorder/County clerk on 4/26/2024. 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9005402

The name of the business:

Azure Destination Wedding & Travel, located at 2130 Sunset Drive, #46, Vista, CA 92081. Registrant Linda Shirley Birdsall, 2130 Sunset Drive, #46, Vista, CA 92081. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A

/s/ Linda Shirley Birdsall with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 3/8/2024

4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2024-9006696

The name of the business: Touch of Glam Studio, located at 2821 Oceanside Blvd., G, Oceanside, CA 92054. Registrant Jocelyn Vanesa Cruz, 279 Douglas Dr., Apt 117, Oceanside, CA 92058. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 3/20/2024

/s/ Jocelyn Cruz with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 3/25/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2024-9007801

The name of the business: J’s Microgreens, located at 2629 La Gran Via, Carlsbad, CA 92009. Registrant Jason Anthony Thornborough, 2629 La Gran Via, Carlsbad, CA 92009. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A

/s/ Jason Anthony Thornborouogh with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/10/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9008031

The name of the business: Blackfish Pool Services, located at 429 Mimosa Avenue, Vista, CA 92081. Registrant Austin Jordan Lewis, 429 Mimosa Ave., Vista, CA 92081. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Austin Jordan Lewis with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/12/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9007651

The name of the business: Home2 Suites By Hilton Carlsbad/San Diego, located at 1901 Wright Place, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Registrant Royal Hospitality Carlsbad, PO Box 3872, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067. This business is operated by a Limited Liabiality Company. First day of business: 6/8/2020 /s/ Ryong Cho, Managing Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/8/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2024-9007573

The name of the business: Morph N Time Collectibles, located at 2561 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Registrant Abram Moedano, 382 Osborne St., Vista, CA 92084. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 4/1/2024

/s/ Abram Moedano with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/8/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9007166

The name of the business: 5 Star Cleaning Service, 5 Star Cleaning Services, located at 831 Millbrook Pl., Escondido, CA 92026. Registrant Jose E. Nieto, 831 Millbrook Pl., Escondido, CA 92026. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Jose E. Nieto with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 4/2/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9006133

The name of the business: Park Place Chiropractic, located at 955 Boardwalk Ste 305, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Robert D Olson Integrative Chiropractic Inc., 955 Boardwalk Ste 305, San Marcos, CA 92078. This business is operated by a Corporation. First day of business: 3/14/2024 /s/ Robert Olson, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 3/19/2024

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9008289

The name of the business: Ethical Resources, located at c/o 1177 Adena Way, San Marcos, CA 92069. Registrant Kevin James Camperell, 1177 Adena Way, San Marcos, CA 92069. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 4/17/2024

/s/ Kevin James Camperell with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/17/2024

4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9006396

The name of the business: La Mission Barbershop, located at 2035 Mission Ave., Oceanside, CA 92058. Registrant Karla San Elias, 2035 Mission Ave., Oceanside, CA 92058 This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Karla San Elias with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 3/21/2024 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2024-9008184

The name of the business: Milestone Renovation Consultants, located at 5102 Whitman Way #302, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Registrant Paul Keith Macaulay, 5102 Whitman Way #302, Carlsbad, CA 92008. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Paul Keith Macaulay with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/16/2024 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT 2024-9008073

The name of the business: Raelee Impressions, located at 4653 Carmel Mountain Rd., 306-128, San Diego, CA 92130. Registrant Linda Lee Blevins 4653 Carmel Mountain Rd, 308-128, San Diego, CA 92130. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 4/15/2024 /s/ Linda Lee Blevins with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/15/2024 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

LEGALS

STATEMENT 2024-9007481

The name of the business: A-Z

Fitness, A-Z Wellness, located at 16360 Avenida Venusto Suite B, Rancho Bernardo, CA 92128. Registrant Arya Zokaei, 16360 Avenida Venusto Suite B, Rancho Bernardo, CA 92128. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 4/1/2024 /s/ Arya Zokaei with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 4/5/2024 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9008082

The name of the business: Health is Wealth, located at 355 Forest Place, Vista, CA 92083. Registrant Chyla Solei Castillo, 355 Forest Place, Vista, CA 92083. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: N/A /s/ Chyla Solei Castillo with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/15/2024

4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9007465

The name of the business: Got Gold, located at 1215A South Mission Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028. Registrant Frank James Neu, 1215A South Mission Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 1/3/2011 /s/ Frank James Neu with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/5/2024 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2024

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE RONALD GERARD NEILSON Case No. 24PE000608C SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 1100 Union Street San Diego, CA. 92101

CENTRAL COURTHOUSE

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate or both, of Ronald Gerard Neilson, aka, Ronald G. Neilson, aka Ronald Neilson. A petition for probate has been filed by Karissa Neilson in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA. 92101. Central Courthouse,Probate Division. The Petition for Probate requests that Karissa Neilson be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: 05/23/24 Time: 1:30 pm Dept: 503 Address of court: Same as noted above. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general per- sonal representative, as defined in Section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to

you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner Kyle T. Overs 600 W. Broadway, Suite 1500 San Diego, CA. 92101

619.810.4300

DOP: 4/25, 5/02 & 5/09/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2024-9009056

The name of the business: A Cut Above Barber And Beauty Lounge, located at 918 Mission Ave., Ste 115, Oceanside, CA 92054. Registrant Kristy Rogers, 29538 Major League, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 4/25/2024

/s/ Kristy Rogers with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 4/26/2024

5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9008803

The name of the business: Power Wash MD, located at 4325 Ls Portalada Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92010. Registrant Mark Dumais, 4325 La Portalada Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92010. This business is operated by an Individual. First day of business: 1/2/2023

/s/ Mark Dumais with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 4/23/2024

5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9008495

The name of the business: Mommy & Me Nails, located at 1582 W. San Marcos Blvd., Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant Tham Thi Ford, 1329 N. Las Flores Dr., San Marcos, CA 92069, Nicholas Robert Ford, 1329 N. Las Flores Dr., San Marcos, CA 92069. This business is operated by a Married Couple. First day of business: 4/18/2024 /s/ nicholas Robert Ford with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/18/2024

5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9008636

The name of the business: Target Auto Repair, located at 3006 Barnett Ave., San Diego, CA 92110. Registrant VLLV Inc., 3006 Barnett Ave., San Diego, CA 92110. This business is operated by a Corporation. First day of business: N/A /s/ Bassam Behnam, Vice President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/22/2024 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9006238

The name of the business: Target Auto Body, located at 3006 Barentt Ave., San Diego, CA 92110. Registrant Target Auto Body, 3006 Barentt Ave., San Diego, CA 92110. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company. First day of

business: N/A /s/ Frank Rofail, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 3/20/2024 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2024

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME 37-2024-00017062-CU-PT-

NC TO ALL INTERESTED PER-

SONS: Petitioner Kimberly Rochelle Smith filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: Kimberly Rochelle Smith to Proposed name Kimberly Rochelle Smith aka Kimberly Rochelle Levens French. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objections that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: 5/24/2024, 8:30am, in Dept. N-25

The address of the court is: 325 S. Melrose, Vista, CA. 92081. No hearing will occur on above date: see attachment. A copy of the Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: San Marcos News Reporter, dba, The Paper, 845 W. San Marcos Blvd, San Marcos, Ca. 92078. Dated April 11, 2024 /s/ Brad A. Weinreb, Judge of the Superior Court 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF John E. Azevedo Case No. 24PE000672C SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 1100 Union Street San Diego, CA. 92101

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate or both, of John E. Azevedo. A Petition for Probate has been filed by Joseph Azevedo in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA. 92101 Central Courthouse. The Petition for probate requests that Joseph Azevedo be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an inter-

ested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows:

Date: May 22, 2024

Time: 1:30 pm

Dept: 502

Address of court: Same as noted above.

If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters as provided in Probate Code section 9100. the time for filing claims will not expire before four months from the hearing date noticed above. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for petitioner: Brian M. Wagner 11 Embarcadero West, Suite 140 Oakland, CA 94607

510-272-0200

DOP: 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9009274

The name of the business: Auto Pro SD, located at 2865 Scott St., #101, Vista, CA 92081. Registrant The Auto Detailing Company, 2865 Scott St., #101, Vista, CA 92081. This business is operated by a Corporation. First day of business: 3/21/2021 /s/ Israel Alzalde, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 4/30/2024 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30//2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9009531

The name of the business: OSL Travel, located at 1368 Corte Lira, San Marcos, CA 92069. Registrant Sheila Marie Ligayon, 1368 Corte Lira, San Marcos, CA 92069, Owen Doroteo Ligayon, 1368 Corte Lira, San Marcos, CA 92069. This business is operated by a Married Couple. First day of business: N/A /s/ Sheila Marie Ligayon with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 5/3/2024 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30/2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT 2024-9004742

The name of the business: American Wholesale Co, located at 1401 21st St. Ste R, Sacramento, CA 95811. Registrant DRGP Productions LLC, 1401 21st St. Ste R, Sacramento, CA 95811. This business is operated by a Limited Liability Company. First day of business: 3/4/2024 /s/ Daniel Green Pollock, Managing Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 3/4/2024

4/4, 4/11, 4/18, 4/25/2024