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Thirty Years Ago Several years ago when asked what he thought about rock music, Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse replied, "it's impotent violence." At the time I had no idea what he was talking about and really didn't care since I considered myself the first and foremost hardcore Stones fan outside of London. Mick Jagger became the perfect embodiment of all my fantasies and I no longer had to excuse my looks or thoughts -- Jagger was doing it for me. I never worried about the sexism in his lyrics because I assumed he was singing to Keith. Attending the Stones concert Friday I finally understood what Marcuse was talking about. -- "SEE MICK JUMP," Winifred, July 17, 1975

Twenty-Five Years Ago Sy Klein...was chosen post commander of the San Diego chapter of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade at the May 3 preliminary organizational meeting. Klein, who will soon be 65 years old and is retired from the U.S. Navy, lives in Clairemont with his wife Hazel.... "There was no question about volunteering for Spain. I was in the merchant marines and fighting in Spain was the only action in town. "Hemingway was a nice guy," Klein says. "Every time he came to visit the front, he brought plenty of cigarettes with him and he handed them out to everyone. Everyone liked Hemingway."

"Hemingway was full of crap!" Chriss snaps. "He preened around like a Hollywood celebrity. I saw him every day for months at Brigade headquarters. His descriptions weren't authentic. He romanticized everything and it wasn't romantic." -- "FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLED," Sue Garson, July 17, 1980

Twenty Years Ago CARING PERSON NEEDED to loan $500 for roundtrip airfare to reunite small daughter with mother for one week, and to clear bills before mother goes to prison in August. Loan secured with auto. -- CLASSIFIEDS, July 18, 1985

Fifteen Years Ago Me and the missus -- say howdy, honeybun -- we just pulled into San Diego this morning. Yep, that's my pickup over there. The one with the bass boat hitched behind. 'Course, we're out here to see Disneyland and this here Sea World and such, but I figgered I'd squeeze in a touch of bass fishing while the missus hits the souvenir shops. What that? You never been bassin'? Son, you've never lived till you've had ten pounds of fighting largemouth trying to tear the rod outta your hands! Why back in Palatka...hang on a sec. Honeybun, while you're going, could you fetch me back a Coke? Thankyee. -- "BASS BASICS," Joe Daley, July 19, 1990

Ten Years Ago I took the first available seat and lucked out. The man next to me said, "No names, please." I nodded and replied, "You don't have to tell me your name, but I'm Eleanor Widmer." He studied me quizzically. "Eleanor Widmer? I read your column every week." I almost fell out of my seat. "You read my column? How come?" He sliced open his roll, placed his roast beef and salad with dressing inside. He did this with deliberation, not rushing to answer."No names, please," he replied, "but I have a godfather in the restaurant business in North County."

He took a few more seconds to assess how much he could risk revealing before his tablemates. "You like Manhattan and George's?" he whispered. "I eat in places like that." I thought of the lines from John Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale": "Fled is that music: -- do I wake or sleep?" I couldn't believe that I was having a gourmet-food conversation in jail. "What do you think of the new Italian restaurants downtown?" No-Name asked. "Been to any new ones lately?" I played with my roast beef and answered, "The newest one is Bistro Bacco." No-Name pushed his plate aside. "I'll have to try it," he replied. -- RESTAURANTS: "NO KNIVES OR FORKS ALLOWED," Eleanor Widmer, July 13, 1995

Five Years Ago Going barefoot. Children, hippies, and kung fu masters do it, and since they're smarter than the rest of us, there must be something to it. Plus, what's the first thing we take off when we get home? Still, we despise bare feet in this country, and that, according to the Dirty Sole Society (www.barefooters.org), is criminal. "We are a group of people," society founders explain, "who love going barefoot pretty much everywhere, all the time (not just around the house or at the beach), as a lifestyle choice, including out and about on streets, stores, in the country, and hiking. -- SIGHTSEER: "PROLONGED EXPOSURE," Justin Wolff, July 13, 2000