Category: The Widder Curry

Friday, February 10, 2012 @ 7:00 AM. Went to get on the “35 bus” at the “temporary” bus stop on Orchard and Sunset Cliffs Blvd. only to find out that this temporary stop is temporarily shut down. How do I know this? Because there is a cute little “sleeve” covering the bus stop sign with an arrow running through it, signifying “no bus service.”

Was I given any notice about this? Were my three foreign language students that take this bus given any notice of the change? Hell no! Did they ride the 35 and 923 bus yesterday? Yes! Did they ride the bus the day before? Yes. Then why wasn’t there some indication that the route would be changed? Who is running the Metropolitan Bus Service? Idiots? It’s not like the bus riders are driving a car and can drive to the next bus stop. They had no idea where the next working bus stop would be.

Today I received the following letter from the San Diego Branch of the Susan G. Komen For The Cure:

We have a very small office here in San Diego – so that the majority of the money we raised can go right back to the community. Last week’s political firestorm shook each of us to the core. It may also have rocked you. For the first time in my six years here, the integrity of this organization was questioned. Even after we took responsibility for the mistake and moved quickly to fix the problem, some said they would never have anything to do with Komen again.

Okay. I understand that. Everyone needs to make decisions that they can live with and feel good about.

But here’s the truth. While some may leave us, we will never leave you or the uninsured women that we fight for every day here in San Diego.

In my last article, I discussed my experience of getting back into the dating world. I ended by saying that I would do some more research, purely in the interest of helping other widows find lasting happiness in an otherwise lonely situation.

I only signed up with one dating service, initially. If you remember it was a site for seniors, yet my first date with my “boy toy” was with a man younger than my youngest daughter – 27 years younger than me. He was sexy, well toned, and either after my money (sic) or my bed. Maybe both. That relationship ended with him hanging up on me.

As a good researcher, I decided that I really needed to be signed up with more than one dating site, so I signed up with three more. I used the same profile; the same pictures, and the same physical description. I thought about reducing my age – but wanted to be honest. Why? Who knows?

Who has made MAN the guardian of women’s rights? Who has sanctioned other women telling other females that they are wrong because they want to have an abortion. Did you hear a candidate for President of the United States of America say, when it involves a woman pregnant from a rape, “Make The Best Out Of A Bad Situation”. Yes, that is what candidate Rick Santorum said when he commented on his opposition to abortion.

A woman’s body is her own. It does not belong to anyone else except that woman. No one should be able to tell a woman what to do with her body. Not her family; not her husband; not her significant other; not her religion. What she decides to do with it should be between her and her doctor. No one else.

Married at the age of 17; divorced at the age of 27; remarried at the age of 27, didn’t give…

It is not often that I venture away from the Ocean Beach/Pt. Loma and write an article about it. But my widow support group, me included, had such a wonderful experience at the Maritime Museum yesterday morning that I have to share it with you.

Once a week my group gets together and does something “for us.” It may be going out to lunch, either at someone’s home or to a restaurant. We have been to movies; shopping; walks, etc. and today we did something new. We went to the BERKELEY to see the art exhibit of Cook, Melville and Gauguin courtest of the Kelton Foundation.

There are many heartbreaks in our lives. There are many episodes that throw us into deep despair, wondering if we can/will survive. There are many situations that seem impossible to rectify, yet, somehow, the next day dawns with the same bright sun – unless, of course, you live in Ocean Beach and wake to another foggy day – and you put one foot in front of the other as you circulate throughout the day.

There are also some situations that you cannot see any way out of and still keep your sense of humor; your fortitude; your desire to plod on. Instead of being lifted from the doldrums, you are sucked deeper and deeper into the black hole beneath your feet.

JANUARY: The repair work on Sunset Cliffs will finally be finished. The only problem was that during the installation of the new pipes, the cliffs eroded so much that there can no longer be any auto or pedestrian traffic on the street.

FEBRUARY: The post office, in their infinite wisdom has closed the processing center on Midway drive, thus opening the way for Lindbergh Field to take it over for the new runway.

For many years I have thought of myself as a Democrat. The principles of the Democratic Party were more closely aligned to my own political beliefs. That is not to say that I have not crossed over to vote for Republican candidates that I thought were better qualified than their rival Democrat. Shortly after I was given the privilege of voting, I voted for William Knowland; and in the not so distant past, while living in Maine, I voted for both Olivia Snow and Susan Collins, both Republicans. (And..by the way, both elected to office.)

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Some people, granted, not many, have asked me what I would like for a holiday gift this year. My answer this year, and every year since I was 16, has always been the same: “Don’t buy me anything because if I want something I usually go out and buy it for myself.”

But this year – 2011 – may be a little different. The magazine “Consumer Reports”, (January, 2012) came out this week and listed “25 great gifts.” I thought maybe I could get a few ideas from their list, as I have done in the past. After all, I have 3 children; 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, besides friends that I like to remember during this time. So…pen and paper in hand, a list of those I want/need to buy for and I opened the magazine to page 16.

With all that is going on in the world today, this little problem I faced today is a small one. None-the-less, I have never liked being screwed without a climax and I think that screwing almost took place today.

Like most residents in San Diego, I receive several monthly advertisements offering me discounts, free gifts, reduced price items. This is not about those advertisements; rather it is about one particular advertiser.

A friend of mine, after reading my review of South Beach, suggested that I try the Italian Restaurant – “Ciao Bella” at 4953 Newport Ave. Since I really didn’t feel like cooking dinner for one of my students and myself, I suggested we give it a try.

This is a “cute” restaurant; facades of little houses line the walls, each one numbered. They really don’t have anything to do with the restaurant, but the décor is warm and inviting even though the restaurant was cold.