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Shameful Secrets

I slither into the tiki bar with my hat pulled low over my brow and my oversized sunglasses affixed to the bridge of my nose. My glance darts to the left, to the right. I don’t recognize a soul.

I slink to the bar and order a drink. The bartender pushes my drink toward me, his thinly disguised disgust for me evident on his deeply tanned, square-jawed face.

This is how it is. For years I have carried this disgraceful secret with me. My father will no longer speak to me. His shame is too great, an unbearable burden for him, a retired police officer. My mother cries at night, the estrangement tearing at the very soul of her being.

I cannot look the bartender in the eye as I bring my Saba Colada to my lips, the skewer of pineapple, maraschino cherry and orange slice set aside for later nibbling, because…….

Nooooo!!

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I slither into the tiki bar with my hat pulled low over my brow and my oversized sunglasses affixed to the bridge of my nose. My glance darts to the left, to the right. I don’t recognize a soul.

I slink to the bar and order a drink. The bartender pushes my drink toward me, his thinly disguised disgust for me evident on his deeply tanned, square-jawed face.

This is how it is. For years I have carried this disgraceful secret with me. My father will no longer speak to me. His shame is too great, an unbearable burden for him, a retired police officer. My mother cries at night, the estrangement tearing at the very soul of her being.

I cannot look the bartender in the eye as I bring my Saba Colada to my lips, the skewer of pineapple, maraschino cherry and orange slice set aside for later nibbling, because…….

Nooooo!!

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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