Photo by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.

Bob and Grace kissing, Dodie and Jimmy in middle. Grace: "I grew up on the Motown sound. But around the house I love opera, especially Turandot."

Out there on the dance floor is a bit of paradise

Almost everybody in East County knows about the place, but not nearly so many visit This is because the Renegade has a reputation. Rumors of fights are true, if exaggerated. (Regulars explain that fights occur usually when the rodeo is in town.) But the real source of the aversion is what might be called an aesthetic thing. The tavern is in-your-face like Willie Nelson with his red bandanna.

By Hawkins Mitchell, July 10, 1997 Read full article

Shirley Starr

Photo by Dave Allen

San Diego packs heat

Sullivan often tries to assist others to obtain permits. “You need every parasitic license known to man. It was so bad at one time you virtually had to jack your house up to bring it in.” Nevertheless, he admits that San Diego County has one of the more liberal CCW permit policies in the state but fears that could change with the recent election of the “anti-gun” Bill Kolender as sheriff.

By Bob Owens, Feb. 29, 1996 Read full article

"People don’t get tired of it. They’ll dance for an hour straight to drums.”

Drums: the secret language of insurrection

“There are impostors representing African culture in this town,” said Omar Moore, one of the leading black drummers in San Diego. His eyes blazed and there was suppressed rage in his voice. “Booking agencies here get groups of drummers and dancers that have nothing to do with our culture. They don’t even look African, much less speak the language."

By Jory Farr, Jan. 5, 1995 Read full article

There is nearly every kind of human here in Lemon Grove.

Photo by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.

If God didn't love pigeons, He wouldn't have given them wings

In the 45 minutes it took to get from Solana Beach to San Diego, he presented an overview of the history of homing pigeons, from the carrier pigeons in ancient Greece and Hannibal’s homing pigeons, to pigeons in the Middle Ages, pigeons in the Crusades, pigeons in the 19th Century that flew for the Rothschilds, pigeons in both world wars, pigeons that saved Paris.

By Judy Henske, Apr. 25, 1996 Read full article

Gary Sehnert: "The note of familiarity (WhiteZin) is hitting for you is Coca-Cola. It’s sweet, not a lot of acidity, and good cold."

Photo by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.

Taste, taste, taste, taste, and then taste a hundred times more

Before becoming a wine store, the WineSellar was a storage facility, three stories of dimly lit, cement and steel, temperature-controlled lockers, stuffed and overstuffed with the collections of San Diego’s wine lovers. The lockers now range in size from 5 to 1500 cases, locked cages with substantial steel grating on their doors. The mere sight of such abundance pulled me in.

By Matt Lickona, Feb. 6, 1997 Read full article

Autumn and Caro Birchfield. First time she got married she was 21, and this time she was 34.

Randy Hoffman

In love 17 hours a day

Caro has virtually every historical romance novel written up to June of last year. She doesn’t read all of them, but if she finds a writer she particularly likes, she’ll go and buy the other books of that line. Caro has most of the Contemporary sensual lines as well. The Harlequins, the Silhouettes, and the Love Swepts. She has every Love Swept.

By Mary Lang, June 4, 1992 Read full article