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Have You Heard of the “Wailing Wall”? The “Widder’s” answer – “The Reading Fence”

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It is hard to believe that during the last presidential election my husband was alive and protesting the Bush regime. We first made contact with the OBRag because of posters and/or pictures we had depicting our feelings.

As the anniversary of his death of three years approaches, (September 21st) I feel it is only fitting to construct a “Reading Fence” of the current posters being circulated on the Internet. (Of course it must be realized that I am selecting only those that he would have approved of – which means that some of you will not approve of them). Oh well….he wouldn’t care – nor do I.   [Read more…]

A Review of “An Iliad” – A Reimagined Classic

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“An Iliad” – A Reimagined Classic
La Jolla Playhouse
2910 La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037

A Review …and …. events leading up to the play … and after.

This “dating game” that I am playing sure has many twists and turns. I met a man on-line Saturday and he told me he had tickets to see “An Iliad” the following day, Sunday. He asked me if I would like to go. I said sure. We agreed to talk to each other Sunday morning, and finalize the plans.

I called him around 10:15am and we agreed to meet at the box office at 1:30pm for the 2:00pm matinee. In the course of our conversation he asked me what I would be wearing. I told him I didn’t know yet; it depended on the weather. He informed me that he hoped I would not be wearing anything “frumpy” because he didn’t like frumpy women. He said that many of the older women he has met already have “one foot in the grave, and are not aware of how they look.” He is 65. He asked me if I was overweight or fat. Hmmm. I told him I was overweight. He said, “so am I.”

I arrived at the playhouse at 1:20pm and called his cell phone to let him know I was there. He said he was on La Jolla Village Drive and would be there in just a few minutes. He said he was wearing a white hat.   [Read more…]

What’s Going on at Ft. Rosecrans Now? Its Watering Schedule is Out of Sync…

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Three of my widow support group have husbands buried at Ft. Rosecrans cemetery. A fourth one has a fiancé buried there also. All of our men are in very close proximity to each other – probably because they all passed away at just about the same time.

Three of us try to visit our husbands once a month, if for no other reason than to make sure they are still there. I usually use the time to berate him for leaving me. Sometimes I bring flowers from our garden; sometimes one of the other women bring a sticker to put on the plaques – a forbidden practice but we do it anyway; sometimes we bring individual windmills to stick in the rocks below the walls that hold their remains.

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Cafe Coyote Disappoints

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Four of us from my support group had tickets to see “Man of La Mancha” Sunday, August 19, 2012 at the Cygnet Theatre. (Thanks to Ro who ushers at the theater and is paid in “vouchers” for performances.) We decided to go early to find a parking place and then have lunch before the play. We arrived at 12:30pm and had no trouble parking in the little lot attached to the Cygnet. Everyday in Old Town is a parking/eating nightmare, but Sunday has to be the worst.   [Read more…]

Man, Oh Man! A Review of ‘Man of La Mancha’

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MAN OF LA MANCHA”
Cygnet Theater Review
Old Town, San Diego
619-337-1525

Dear Reader,

I am so sorry that I did not see this play earlier than today. It was absolutely wonderful. The acting was superb, the singing extraordinary, the adaptation to a small theater was marvelous.

The audience was on their feet before the final strains of the last song.   [Read more…]

A Restaurant Review: “Jiggle Jiggle” Korean Grill in the Midway

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“Jiggle Jiggle” Korean Grill
3146 Midway Drive
San Diego, CA 92110

Several days ago a request was made by one of our readers to do a review of  Jiggle Jiggle. She said the food was good; inexpensive; and the “mom/pop” running the restaurant are from Korea. It should be noted that this is not a Korean BBQ. There are no hot pots or woks on the table for you to do your own cooking. Rather, it is all done for you in a most delicious way.

I have a Korean student living with me to learn English – Monica – and some of you have already read about her problem with Wells-Fargo. Monica has been with me for almost 9 months. I also have a Japanese student – Yuko – who has only been in the United States 2 weeks, and when my two students get together they spend a great deal of time in a “giggle” mode. It truly is a kick to be around them, and you find yourself smiling with them most of the evening.  Tonight was no exception.   [Read more…]

A Quick Trip to Costco (Morena) to Buy Gas

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A member of my widow support group, Irene, came over this morning because we were both feeling lonely, and I was making breakfast – “Dutch Babies” for my students and thought she’d like to join us. After eating, we decided to go up to Ft. Rosecrans and “see” our husband’s and tell them what they missed. They were waiting for us in their little “niche” and we bawled them out for leaving us when they did. (Interestingly enough we did not know Irene and Johnny; Irene and I met in our support group, but the “wall” that Bob and Johnny are in are very close to each other and we presume that they “meet” often and discuss the dirty trick they played on us, their wives.

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Restaurant Review – Old Town’s “LA PIÑATA” – Tasty Food & a Treasure Chest for Kids

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Last night I had a fun evening with my daughter and her two grandchildren. Yes, they are my great grandchildren, and it is always a joy to be with them. My great-granddaughter is 3, going on 15; my great-grandson just turned two.

When asked if they wanted to go to dinner with me, they were excited and asked if we could go to the “Treasure Chest” restaurant. (Can you imagine that at their ages they already have a favorite place to go?) My daughter agreed, because she has the best motivator for making sure that the kids behave themselves.  La Piñata has a “treasure chest” filled with all kinds of goodies for the “good boys and girls.” My daughter and granddaughter have set the rules for the family:  IF they eat their meal AND if they behave, stay in their chairs; speak with “restaurant voices” at the end of lunch/dinner, etc. they can pick one gift each from the treasure chest. It works like a charm.  And they are consistent with the rules.  (For example, last night my great-grandson did not eat all his dinner. He did not get to choose something from the treasure chest. His sister did everything she was supposed to do and she did get a trinket from the chest. He was not unhappy about not getting anything. Even at two he knows the rules.)   [Read more…]

An Unwelcome Insight

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As I have been aging, I have spent more time thinking about my Mother and Father. I will not dwell on my mother, because there are not many good things I can say about her. (After you read about my father you will probably say there aren’t many good things to say about him either.) Suffice it to say that my mother was a social butterfly; more concerned with appearances than substance. She was a pianist and she and her sister were Leonard Bernstein’s first music teachers. Her parents were immigrants from Russia and Poland, and my grandfather was one of the nicest people I had ever met. My grandmother had a mean streak – which was inherited by my mother – and not nearly as nice as Grandpa. My mother and father were very wealthy – more about that in a moment – and I had my own governess until I was seven years old.

We lived just on the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles; yet I was culturally deprived. I had never been north of the San Fernando Valley; east of East Los Angeles; or south of San Pedro.. I had been sent to Girl Scout camp on Catalina, where I proceeded to get seasick from the time we left San Pedro until the return. I was always left in the care of the governess or the maid. When my mother married my father, an immigrant from Budapest, she became a “decorator to the stars” and it was not unusual to have celebrities in the house daily, nor was it unusual for her to take me on some of her jobs to “show me off.”   [Read more…]

Restaurant Review – “FIESTA CANTINA”

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Fiesta Cantina, 142 University Ave., San Diego, Ca 92103

One of the nice things about finally having a date was going to someplace I had not been before, with a person I had not met before, and with a waitress that was already celebrating the Gay Pride Parade.

He suggested that we meet at the “FIESTA CANTINA” to indulge in their Taco Tuesday repast. Their menu for Tuesday was an “all you can eat” taco’s, featuring three different fillings, including rice and beans and salsa for $4.95. There was a one beverage minimum, but during Happy Hour if you purchased 1 margarita the other one was free. (Same with beer – buy one beer – the second was free.)   [Read more…]

I Hate the 4th of July

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What is it about shooting off firecrackers that reduces big men to small boys? What is the thrill of the loud bang? What is the thrill of the possibility of doing real damage to property and living things? Why is it necessary to bring these illegal noise makers into neighborhoods that already famous for their firework shows year after year after year?

I have an eleven year old Golden Retriever. He is well trained; well mannered and scared to death of loud noises. When a fire cracker is shot off he tries to hide. Everywhere. He tries to get under the covers; he tries to get under the carpet; he tries to get under clothes in the closet. He will try to get into the shower; He runs through the house like the firecracker is tied onto his tail. Buddy is not a small dog. He weighs close to 115 pounds. Yet he is tormented by unthinking people that are into instant gratification every year at this time. …   [Read more…]

Wells Fargo: An Indictment of the American Banking System

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Three weeks after the fact, the banking giant fixes its own error.

On June 28th a call came to Monica from the Supervisor of Security at the Wells Fargo headquarters in San Francisco. Her name was Sheila. She originally would not talk to me, even though Monica had given them permission to do so. I had to wait until Monica came home from school. Putting Sheila on speaker phone, Monica iterated that I had permission to speak for her, and the conversation began.

We were informed that the transaction for the $300 had been found and she wanted Monica to go to the bank the next day and see if the security tape was, in fact, that of Monica. I asked Sheila if the person making the transaction was a woman. She answered “yes.” I asked if she was of Asian descent. She again answered “yes.” I asked if she was tall. The answer was “yes.” I asked if she were very slim. The answer was “yes.” I asked if she had long hair. Again the answer was “yes.” I then asked a very telling question. I said, “was it the same woman that made the $400 withdrawal?” I was incredulous when the answer was given to me….   [Read more…]

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