“You know you’re from OB if …”

Editor:  Some folks in and around OB have started a facebook page entitled “You know you’re from OB if …” and people post comments about their memories of OB past. This latest one by local Melissa Brown was particularly endearing and so we repost it in its entirety.

By Melissa Brown

You know you’re from OB if you …

• Remember Steve Rogow and The Ram Band, Slant or The Balzi Band set up on the grass both in between Hodads and the sand, or the grass on the pier side of the lifeguard tower.

• Remember the same bands plus the Hurricanes playing at LeChalet.

• Went to parties at Red House and saw either The Ram Band or Jambalaya play

• Spent countless hours sitting on the wall outside the arcade next door people watching with Adam and John

• Drove out at dog beach and got your car stuck in the channel when the tide rose.

• OB Rec – took pottery, tap, ballet, and jazzercise with Diane- and spent a kazillion afternoons watching Brian, Tony, Mike, David, Dana and others play basketball

• The best Haunted House ever there, and the kite festival – after school movies – cheking out balls or games in the office
• I had the disco sucks t-shirt

• Worked at The Black, Giant New York Pizza and the donut shop which was where Wonderland is now

• Remember the cottages that used to be in that location

• Instant Beauty Trucks

• Picketed outside OB Elementary to support teachers

• Played OB Little League – OB Kiwanas, and I forgot the name of our green team – remember Larry Douglas hitting me with a hard ball to the shoulder (in my case, it was the only base I took all year – so YAY!)

• Remember Harvey

• Remember Timmy Kamfonik

• Ate at LaHomas ….mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

• Bought fabric at Coronet and candy at Homers and Adlers

• Ate at Our Perry’s Pizza and Luigis

• Saw Doctor Weber who’s office overlooks the pier

• Played spin the bottle at Tara’s house

• Went to a party at the old Peoples food store – when they cleared out everything and we had a sort of a hoedown – with food by Jimbo (WAY before Jimbo’s)

• Remember Spanky, Jim and Joe, Indian, The Sunshine Lady, Bear, Bro, Tubaman, Mouse

• Still talk to Marudis about Pipe Organs and his dad

• Have a tile on Newport

• Remember the police dog that used to patrol Newport on his own

• Saw so many movies at The Strand – (obviously RHPS many times)

• Remember Jeff Cooper (and several others) jumping his bike superhigh everywhere, but often at the dirt mounds behind the baseball field

• Remember The Jumps out Sunset Cliffs

• Rock Island Pizza

• Remember the fight with John Schmidt behind Alpha Beta

• Remember the couch that was out overlooking Garbage Beach – took showers there

• The OB Elementary Community School – taking classes there after school and the movie that we made

• Free To Be You and Me

• Remember somehow making your way from the pier to the motel on Point Loma Avenue – sometimes walking, sometimes climbing – sometimes swimming

• Remember riding bikes from Del Mar to Point Loma Ave using the back dirt alleys that went both parallel and perpendicular to the ocean

• Walked absolutely everywhere, every day

• Remember Frank and Roz

• There is no way to count how many times we laid in the sun at Tower 2 or had bonfires in OB or at Fiesta Island

This is so long….I just thought I would get it all out at once, but there is sill more…HA! I love OB. My mom owns a home in OB. My dad loved OB. My kids love OB. We are so fortunate to be here and have these memories.