The Widder Curry

Thoughts on life, family and community by Judi Curry, a long time educator and resident of the Ocean Beach, Point Loma area of San Diego.

The Widder Curry Bids a Fond Farewell to Director of Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery

October 26, 2015 by Judi Curry
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By Judi Curry

On August 21, 2012 I wrote my first article about the deplorable conditions at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery. The trees we dying; the grass was dying; and the one place I found solace after my husband Bob’s death was no more.

On August 15, 2014, I wrote a subsequent article about the same place, still unhappy about the conditions of the cemetery. I sent a copy of that article to Doug Ledbetter, the Director of the Cemetery, and what followed was a miraculous change for the better. (Not because of my letter, but because Doug also recognized the problems and set forth to correct them.)

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PETA Opposes SeaWorld Orca Habitat Expansion at Coastal Commission

July 24, 2015 by Source
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by James Sullivan/ Science Recorder / July 24, 2015

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked that the California Coastal Commission reject SeaWorld San Diego’s efforts to expand its killer whale tanks.

The project is estimated at $100 million, to be completed in 2018, but has yet to received endorsement from the Coastal Commission.

“This item has been postponed because of all the information submitted,” said commissioner Alex Llerandi.

“The coastal staff is taking the time to ensure all potential issues and viewpoints are considered in any final recommendations.”

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Widder Curry Asks: ‘What kind of a neighbor are you?’ as Burglaries Plague Sunset Cliffs Neighborhood

June 4, 2015 by Judi Curry
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What do these streets all have in common? Pescadero Drive; Adair Street; Tivoli St.; Granger St; Osprey St.; and Trieste? Need another clue? With the exception of Trieste, all are in the 4500-4600 blocks. Still need help? Let me tell you then.

Since May 1st, five homes on these blocks have been broken into and items taken.

Some have been broken into during the day; some of been broken into at night.

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Ramblings of an Insomniac

April 27, 2015 by Judi Curry
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10:00pm Got into bed to watch the nightly local news. Set the timer on the television to go off at 11:00pm. Fell asleep

11:15pm Wide awake. Turned on the light and read some of a new book.

12:00am Crappy book; still wide awake.

12:30am Can’t turn off the thought processes. Turned on the news on the radio – KNX – 1070 Los Angeles

1:07am Mind going a mile a minute. When did I become an insomniac? Probably about eight years ago, shortly after my husband Bob was diagnosed with lung cancer. Wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, and as the end was nearing and it was difficult for him to speak, he would turn on a light that would signal he needed help.

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Restaurant Review: Portuguese Market and Cafe in Point Loma

April 14, 2015 by Judi Curry
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By Judi Curry

Portuguese Market and Cafe

2818 Avenida de Portugal
San Diego, CA 92106

I received a call telling me about a place that was so good that I needed to try it. Well, Barbara, I agree. The meal was delightful. The restaurant is on the backside of the Portuguese Hall. I have been to many “fiestas” held there and had no idea that there was also a restaurant. I found out that it has only been opened since July, 2014,

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Restaurant Review: Little Lion in South Ocean Beach

March 3, 2015 by Judi Curry
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Restaurant Review

Little Lion
1424 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107

I have been anticipating my first meal at the “Little Lion” ever since I heard it was getting ready to open. (The old “Belgian Lion” was always one of my favorite restaurants and I was sorry to see it close. ) … We went on a Friday morning, around 10:45am, and it was not crowded at all. There were three tables being used, and because of the cold breeze no one was eating outside.

I have reviewed three separate restaurants at this location. It is a very small eatery; very limited room, but charming at the same time. I was prepared to rave about the restaurant to everyone. Let me start by saying that the food was excellent. …

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Have You Been To a Foreign Country In the Past Few Weeks?

February 24, 2015 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

Sundog_looking_east[1]That seems to be the question everyone is asking since the Ebola epidemic started affecting people in the United States. My usual answer would be “no” but I now have changed that and say, “I’ve been to North Dakota in the past few weeks. Does that count?”

It’s obvious that I know that North Dakota is not a “foreign country” in the true sense of the meaning, but I’ve learned so much about the State that was foreign to me before.

How many of you know what a “sun dog” is? Living in San Diego my dog is frequently in the sun, but that’s not what is meant in North Dakota – and other communities nearby.

Sun dogs are an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals such as those hosted in cirrus clouds. A number of specific conditions must prevail for this phenomenon to form: the sun must be in the sky, usually less than 45 degrees from the horizon, and in the same horizontal plane as the viewer.

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Judi Curry: Host to 413 Foreign Exchange Students Over 23 Years

February 23, 2015 by Staff
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Our own Judi Curry, who writes a column here on the OB Rag as “The Widder Curry” has finally received some attention that’s due her.

As a host to foreign exchange students since 1992, Judi has had 413 of these foreign students in her home.

The local CBS News affiliate found her recently. Their reporter Abbie Alford interviewed Judi …

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‘Some Things Never Change’- Point Loma’s Perry’s Café

February 20, 2015 by Judi Curry
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Restaurant Review

“Perry’s Café”
4610 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92110
619-291-7121

It has been years since I have had breakfast at Perry’s. It was a place that my husband and I used to go to frequently and always enjoyed the meals we had there. However, since he passed away, I find it difficult to frequent those places that we patronized, because it always brings back memories that I would just as soon forget.

However, one of the members of my widow support group – Ro – had a birthday today that we wanted to celebrate, and she chose “Perry’s” as the place she would like to go. Interesting enough, all of us had been there with our spouses, with the exception of Candy. We asked the very nice waitress when Perry’s opened, …

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Sometimes the Simple Things Are the Most Fun – the Zion Market

February 18, 2015 by Judi Curry

Zion produce sectionTry going to the Zion Market in Clairemont Mesa some day

By Judi Curry

As much as I hate to admit it, I have a birthday coming up at the end of the week. As a general rule I would just as soon forget the day and move right on to the next one.

Perhaps many of you know that I am a “host mother” to foreign language students in the US to hone their English skills. My latest student is the 413th student I have housed since 1992, when my husband and I began this adventure. I have had students from all over the world—each one unique in their own way—and with the exception of only three students that I asked to have removed from my home, it has been a wonderful experience.

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The Widder Curry: “I met the Human GPS Man today.”

February 11, 2015 by Judi Curry
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Seven months ago I was fortunate enough to meet the only “Human GPS” man in the world. At the time I knew he was “different” – but I didn’t know to what extent his talent included. Until today, that is.

I drive a Toyota and take it to the Mission Gorge Toyota dealer for maintenance on the car. Last July I took the car in for its 10,000 mile check up – except it only had 7700 miles on it – and had to leave it at the dealership for close to five hours. I took the courtesy shuttle home, and that was when I met the GPS man – Steve Shank. (That day he took five us to our separate homes – and he drove all over San Diego County delivering us to our residences without checking a map or GPS.)

I was the last person he took home and we talked and exchanged information about ourselves until I was dropped off. I also took the shuttle back to pick up my car and Steve was the driver.

He had told me that he was in the Navy for four years – deployed to Viet Nam three different times. When he decided to leave the Navy he applied for a job with the Post Office and was hired the day after he was discharged.

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“Death with Dignity” Focus of League of Women Voters

January 13, 2015 by Judi Curry
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“If You Like Sleep, You’ll Like Death Even Better”

A summary of the League of Women Voters meeting on “Death with Dignity”

The LWV has scheduled 9 different discussion places for the “Death with Dignity” topic.

On January 12th the discussion was held at the Point Loma Library. The turn-out was disappointing to me – three men and nine women, plus the three female moderators. The discussion, although slow at first, was interesting as the small audience began to participate. The moderators were Nancy Witt, Shirley Walkoe and Jeanne Brown.

Jeanne led the discussion by handing out a statistical page of Assisted Suicide Laws by State. We found out that three states have passed legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide: – Oregon, Vermont and Washington. …

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Buyer beware – or how Match.com has me by the short hair

January 9, 2015 by Judi Curry
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A continuing saga of romance on the internet!

I have been a member of several on-line dating sites for the past 4 years. I have written about some of my experiences with the men that have responded to me, and, in fact, am in the process of completing a book based on those experiences. But today, for the first time, my beef is not with the scammers but with “Match.com” and their policies.

When I signed up with this company, I immediately stated that I did not want an automatic renewal of their “services”. There was a button to push and I did so. Or at least I thought I did so. But when I received my credit card statement yesterday I found that I was charged a $78+ fee for an additional three months subscription. When I called the company to complain they were closed. The message said that if I were to send an email they would respond the next working day. So I sent the email. And there was no call-back. Today I called them. Interesting to note they said they never got the email. …

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Stumps Market Gets the Widder Curry’s Goat

December 30, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Doesn’t take much to get my goat any more.

And it has nothing to do with the amount of time I am spending in North Dakota with Cowboy and his herd of goats. No, in this case it has to do with a stupid “rule” that might make a difference in my shopping habits. This is what happened.

I have shopped at Stumps on Voltaire for years. I like their meat, deli and produce departments. I seldom purchase the regular staples, because their prices are higher than I pay at Ralphs or Vons. But their meat is exceptionally tasty; and their prices are better than the other supermarkets.

Over the past years, Stump’s has offered incentive programs that I have taken advantage of – items like Tupperware containers (or similar). Apparently, Stumps now – after a hiatus of many months – has brought back a new incentive program – Chicago Cutlery. …

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Restaurant Review : Fig Tree Café at Liberty Station

December 29, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Fig Tree Café
Liberty Station
2400 Historic Decatur Road
Suite 103

San Diego, California 92106
619-821-2044

Every Christmas season I go out to breakfast with two friends – Nancy and Stewart – and this year was no exception. We were deciding between the “Little Lion” and the “Fig Tree Café” this year and because Nancy and Stewart had been to the Fig Tree for their $5 breakfast special we decided to go there. Alas, the special was not available for the “holiday” – even though it was now Friday following Christmas. We ordered from the regular menu.

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What a Difference a Few Decades Make – An Interview with Kevin Beiser, President of School Board

December 9, 2014 by Judi Curry
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By Judi Curry

I spent a delightful morning with Kevin Beiser, the San Diego Unified School Board President and he had many positive things to say about what has happened in the district since he has been on the board.

As a public school teacher beginning my career in the early sixties, I have seen the pendulum swing many ways in the past fifty years. (Fifty Years! My God!)

Perhaps one of the biggest swings was from the Professional Organizations of the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the National Education Association (NEA) to the American Federation of Teachers – AFT –and other labor organizations. As a member of “management” later in my career, I have been disillusioned with professionals (educators) belonging to labor organizations, …

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A Feeling of Satisfaction As the Widder Curry Finishes Her 3rd Cookbook

November 3, 2014 by Judi Curry
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For the last 2 years, I have been working on my third, and final cookbook.

How fitting it is to think that I finished it on the 5th anniversary of my husband’s death and received it today, his 87th birthday.

In between writing the book, I was also writing for the San Diego Free Press and the OB Rag; volunteering as a “Front Office Manager” for the Moxie Theatre of Performing Arts every now and then; critiquing restaurants; and seeking other diversions to keep my sanity after a 46 year marriage.

Many of you are aware that I also run and own my own “Jamming” business, making unusual jams with wines and champagne

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How Many Times Did You Flush The Toilet Today?

October 31, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Do We Want Neighbors Spying On Each Other?

Really, how many times did you flush the toilet today?

I remember reading Orwell’s “1984” many years ago, and laughing as I read page after page of things that I thought were impossible to occur during my lifetime. After all, who expected to have drones following your every move; computers able to pinpoint just where you were standing in the Universe. Well, another joke on me!

I have been accepting of most of the “1984” happenings, but I think the one thing happening now that really ticks me off is the offer of an “App” that you can use to report that your neighbor is using too much water.

Neighbors spying on each other?

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Restaurant Review: The Old Venice in Point Loma

October 30, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Old Venice
2910 Canon Street
San Diego, CA 92106
619-222-5888

A friend and neighbor – Jim – called me a few days ago and wanted to take me out to dinner as a thank you for taking care of his house while he was away. He suggested a new restaurant in Ocean Beach, but when I looked at the menu, even during “restaurant week” I felt it was too expensive for what was being offered. I said I would go with him, but not to the restaurant he chose. He didn’t care where we went so I looked thought those listed that were under $35. The “Old Venice” restaurant was listed at $25 per person, and had a nice selection of items. It seems to me that I reviewed this restaurant before but it was at lunch time, so I felt this time would still be a review of a what was being offered.

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Ocean Beach Restaurant Review : “Taika Sushi”

September 29, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Restaurant Review:
“Taika Sushi”
4953 Newport Ave.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-221-1288
http://www.taikasushi.com/ menu-2

It is amazing to me that one block in Ocean Beach can support three Japanese restaurants. But that seems to be the case, with the newest, “Taika Sushi” filled to capacity Friday evening at 6:45pm. I had wanted to try the restaurant ever since it opened, and particularly after reading a review by [Reader writer] Mercy Baron but it just never happened. Until last night.

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The Widder Curry: My Visit to Fort Rosecrans Cemetery Two Years Later

August 15, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Note: After visiting the cemetery on Saturday, August 9th, 2014, we three widow’s were sorely disappointed in what we saw – or didn’t see, two years later. I sent this article to Doug Ledbetter, the Director of the Ft. Rosecrans and Miramar Cemeteries so that he would be aware of what I was going to write. He called me this morning – Monday, August 11th, and we discussed the conditions I have mentioned in this article. His comments to me are in italics and indented next to our concerns:

Two years ago – August 21, 2012 – I wrote my first article about the deplorable conditions of Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery. The cemetery has special meaning to me because my husband is interred there, and it will be my “home” when I leave my Pt. Loma home. Over the past two years I have written several follow-up articles about the grounds and have complimented the “new” director, Doug Ledbetter on returning the cemetery to its “pre-2012” standards.

I don’t know if it was “karma” but yesterday I received a call from Doug asking me if I had been up to the cemetery lately. I had not, but told Doug that today three of us were going to visit our husbands on Saturday because it has been a long time since we have been there.

I told him that we were looking forward to the improvements we expected to see, and I would let him know our thoughts the first part of the week.

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Giving Praise When Praise Is Due: Delta Airlines and Toyota of San Diego

August 14, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Delta Airlines

For the past ten years I have not flown anywhere. I think flying everyday when my husband was in training for Ma Bell in Los Angeles and my working in San Diego – good old PSA – took its toll on me. When I was transferred to Maine I found that I was still doing a lot of flying, and, quite frankly, didn’t like the small commuter planes I had to take from Maine to Boston for various conferences, conventions, etc. When we returned to California and finally San Diego, I could not fathom flying anymore and decided to either take trains or drive.

My daughter lived in North Park at the time of the PSA airplane crash and for years I had nightmares about not being able to find her for 6 hours after the crash. (She was attending classes at SDSU and didn’t even know about the crash. Obviously there were no cell phones then!)

And one trip that the entire family took to the Yucatan, Mexico City and Guadalajara was a real nightmare in that we took off from Tijuana and in our return found out that due to a bad storm the instrument landing that would have been used was not operable. After attempting to land 3 times we finally landed in San Diego and, to make a long story short, returned to TJ to get our car by bus. There had not been any reason to leave San Diego for the past ten years and I was content to stay home.

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“How Many Times Can You Be Screwed?” Let Me Count Another Way

August 13, 2014 by Judi Curry

“No money would exchange hands, but it would be a win-win for both of us…”

facing eastBy Judi Curry

I have always thought of myself as a compassionate person. I frequently do things because I feel it is the right thing to do without ever thinking of any compensation – mentally, emotionally or monetarily. So let’s take a trip down the road to “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” Let’s get into the time tunnel and go back approximately nine months.

I was walking my Golden Retriever Buddy around the block when I came across a woman I knew exercising her dog in front of her house. She was having some work done on her house and I stopped and talked to her. Her name is Patty, and it turned out that she was also in the field of education and I enjoyed talking to her.

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America Has a Koch Problem

July 8, 2014 by Judi Curry

Move-on sponsored movie “Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition” shown in households all over the nation.

By Judi Curry

Bill from the Swamp CrittersSenator Bernie Sanders sent out an email telling Move-on members that “ . . . our great nation must not be hijacked by right-wing billionaires like Charles and David Koch. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, we must fight back, and we must do it now in advance of November’s elections.”

I had heard of the Koch brothers for months; I was somewhat aware of the dastardly deeds they were doing throughout our country, and decided to attend the showing of this documentary at “The Hippie House” recently with approximately twenty of our Pt. Loma/Ocean Beach neighbors.

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The City “Dudette” meets the Real Cowboy!

July 7, 2014 by Judi Curry

Cowboy.

By Judi Curry

Weeks ago I said that I was going to stop my on-line dating sites. To a certain degree that was true; those sites that cost money I have now eliminated; those that are free I have kept. About 3-4 months ago I began corresponding with “Cowboy.” When he told me he lived in North Dakota – near Fargo – no less – I knew that there was no purpose in continuing our relationship, but it just seemed to continue, sometimes talking or texting 20-30 times a day.

After only a short period of time – maybe 3 weeks, he told me that we had texted over 2000 times! What in the world did we talk about? I don’t know, really, but our conversations went on and on, and pretty soon we were talking on the phone. For an honest-to-goodness cowboy I was impressed with his knowledge and truly enjoyed our conversations.

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“How Do You Train a Kangaroo Retriever?”

June 17, 2014 by Judi Curry
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By Judi Curry

As my Golden Retriever “Buddy” was quickly losing his ability to stand or walk, I decided it was time to start looking for another dog. I hoped that the new dog would breathe some life into Buddy, and although I had been looking for months for the “right” dog, none came to the forefront. None, that is, until I found “SHADOW”, aka Thomas, at the Baja Animal Sanctuary. He was just what I thought Buddy and I needed.

Although we cannot be sure of Shadow’s heritage, he appears to be a pure Retriever, but what kind is in question. You see, I think I have the “Superman” of the Retriever genre. He can’t leap buildings in a single leap, but he sure as hell can jump over the coffee table, with all the geegaws on it, to jump up on the couch to watch the people go by.

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Common Kindness Is Not Dead – and How ‘I Blew It!’

June 11, 2014 by Judi Curry
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Have you ever wished that you had done something but by the time it happened it was too late to act upon it? That happened to me yesterday. Let me tell you the story.

I had a massage at my favorite massage therapist’s office. Usually I pay in cash but I was short today so I wrote her a check. Had a wonderful rub down at “Mary’s Therapies” in Ocean Beach, and left about noon.

About 2:00pm, Mary called to tell me that she thought she had lost my check. She couldn’t find it anywhere and wanted me to know. I talked about stopping payment on it but she told me she had already endorsed it and added her account number on it so I figured that no one else could cash it. I thought I’d wait a few days and see what happens.

Two hours later there was a knock on my door.

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Restaurant Review: the “New” OB Noodle House Bar 1502

June 5, 2014 by Judi Curry
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OB Noodle House Bar 1502

4993 Niagara
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-255-9858

Weeks ago when I was told that the OB Noodle House was going to open up their second restaurant I made a note to myself to try it before it became as busy as the original restaurant on Cable. For some reason I never found time to get there – probably lacking a date – and I did not try it until yesterday, June 4th.

My friend Mary and I had just had an acupuncture treatment upstairs from the restaurant, and since it was 4:30pm on Farmer’s Market Wednesday with a great parking place, we decided to have a bite to eat before going home.

There are some vast differences between this new restaurant and the original one.

Perhaps the biggest is that this one has a full liquor license. And, unlike the original, one can actually have a drink outside.

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‘Rite Aid Carded Me When I Bought Beer and I’m a Great Grandmother!’

June 4, 2014 by Judi Curry
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“You want to see my what??!!”

The most exciting thing that has happened to me in 50 years happened just the other day. Right here in our own Ocean Beach. I am still giggling as I write this report. Let me set the stage:

I am not a beer drinker. I will cook with it, but I do not think that I ever ordered beer to drink except when I went out with the man that became my husband back 40 years ago.

We were at the race track and he ordered a glass of the brew. Not wanting him to think that we did not have anything in common, I ordered one too. I didn’t want him to know that I didn’t like it so every time he went to cash a ticket – and he was lucky that day – I poured a little bit more out. When the glass was empty he asked me if I wanted another one, but I told him that one was my limit. As best as I can recall that was the only time I ordered a beer.

Recently I have gone back to on-line dating, in spite of my saying that I would not do so again. But I didn’t know where I could legitimately meet members of the opposite sex, and, at the same time, get fodder for my articles, so I returned to OKCupid, and Mingle, which are free sites, and Match.com, which is a paid service.

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A Difficult Decision: Saying Goodbye to My Dog Buddy after a Wonderful Ten Years

April 28, 2014 by Judi Curry

Buddy in the pool in better times

By Judi Curry

As a mother, an Office Manager, and a School Principal I have been called on to make some difficult decisions. But no decision has been more difficult that the one I had to make just the other morning. The heartache and grief supersedes anything I have ever had to do.

I have had the most wonderful companion for over 10 years. He was born on my birthday many years after I came into this world. He was always so happy to see me; he always had a smile on his face; he never questioned decisions I made; never argued with me, and made me feel better after having a difficult day. That is why this decision is so hard to make. Of course I am talking about my Golden Retriever.

I’ll never forget the first day we met him at the Golden Retriever rescue in Temecula.

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