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AT ITS FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Dialogue has provided insight into the minds of some of our most intriguing San Diegans. Here’s a handful of excerpts culled from five dozen in-depth interviews.
Tom Blair: There’s been talk that your late husband, Ted “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, didn’t really like children. Can that be true?
Audrey Geisel: He was a little frightened by children. One time in Springfield, Massachusetts [his birthplace], they took him around to the schools. At one school, it had started to rain, so no children were out. But their heads were all poked out of windows. As Ted stood on the first step of the antique bus, the skies cleared. And from every orifice of that school came droves of children, running as fast as they could, shouting. And when he saw these hordes of children just tearing in his direction, he turned to get back in the bus. His expression was just “Oh, my God!” He was scared.
(FEBRUARY 2004)
TB: After the death of Padres owner Ray Kroc, you worked [as Padres president] for his widow, Joan, whom many regarded as a saint. What was it like to work for a saint?
Dick Freeman: She just reacted a lot to anything in the media. You could get a call from her, and it would seldom be about dollars and cents, or even player moves. It would be about something in the media. If I said, “Oh, she was great to work for and it was a piece of cake,” I wouldn’t be telling the truth.
(APRIL 2004)
TB: In the past, you’ve shared your dream of turning San Diego into a destination for the best talent in American theater . . . and building a showplace arts complex on our waterfront. Is the dream any closer to reality?
Old Globe artistic director Jack O’Brien: When I pitched that, I was thinking of what it would take for me to just shut out the rest of the world and concentrate on San Diego. Well, it would have taken that kind of commitment from the community for me not to go to London or New York. If it doesn’t want to happen here, there’s plenty of market for my work [elsewhere], and I’m having a ball.
(MAY 2004)
TB: San Diego’s had more than its share of “problem players” in recent years. The name Ryan Leaf comes to mind. You have the reputation of being an all-American boy——almost too good to be true. Are you?
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers: Oh, I don’t think so. Off the field, I always try to do the right thing. On the field, I do the same. You’re never going to perfect the game——ever. But you can keep trying to get better every year. If you lose that fire, you shouldn’t be playing the game. I don’t see me ever getting tired of it.
(JULY 2004)
TB: By most accounts, you’ve lived a hard life, surviving spousal abuse; recovering from alcoholism; working as a maid, a cook and a restaurant hostess; going through a bitter divorce. And then, you became a San Diego councilwoman at 49——a viable candidate for mayor at 52. Can you point to one thing that turned your life around?
Donna Frye: My husband, Skip. I was still a drinker when we met, and having him in my life turned it around. That’s the way life works: Something shakes you up. He shook me into reality by not shaking me at all. He would just walk away. Physically leave. Exit stage left. And that worked.
(JANUARY 2005)
TB: So, how have you managed to keep such a low profile in your first two months as city attorney?
Mike Aguirre: Hard work pays off. You know me; I just don’t want to overdo it.
(MARCH 2005)
TB: If you hadn’t been a cop, what would you have done for a living?
Sheriff Bill Kolender: I really don’t know. On July 23, 1956, I signed on as a cop. I was still a kid, 21, and I was married and had kids already. I just joined the police department to work my way through college. I was raised an orthodox Jew, and my father went ballistic when I joined the cops. He says, “Bilvel, it’s a gentile’s job. Go to school. Be somebody. I’m embarrassed. I can’t go outside.” Later, the family joke was that once I was named chief of police, it was all okay.
(JULY 2005)
TB: Do you still carry a gun, and will you carry it to city council meetings?
Former police chief/new mayor Jerry Sanders: No. But you know, it’s just like when I was in the running for chief of police. The job always seems bigger than it turns out to be. When you get there, the calm comes, because you know the resources you have and the people you have——and you know how to start building those solutions.
(SEPTEMBER 2005)
TB: You grew up on the radio here at a time when San Diego was coming of age as a major city. You saw lots of highlights and lowlights. What events during those years provided your best material?
KOGO morning personality Jeff Pres cott: When I first got here [in the early 1970s], Mayor Frank Curran and the city council were indicted in the Yellow Cab scandal——my first taste of San Diego politics. And here we are, as I end my gig, without a mayor again.So what’s changed in 35 years? Not a damned thing. We’ve gone from taxicab scandals to strip-club scandals. There’s progress.
(OCTOBER 2005)
TB: So have you invested in downtown? Have you bought your own place?
CCDC president Nancy Graham (who resigned last summer amid charges of conflict of interest): I have not bought my piece of downtown, because I’m not allowed to. I’m responsible for downtown, and there would be a perception of conflict of interest.
(SEPTEMBER 2006)
TB: Are there two types of justice in America—— one for the rich and famous, another for the rest of us?
Author Joseph Wambaugh: To an extent, sure. But I think it’s more about celebrity than riches. You can hire a good lawyer if you’re rich. But there are some damn good public defenders who can do a hell of a job, too. Robert Blake [tried for murdering his wife] beat it because of his celebrity, not his lawyer. And I know it was celebrity that saved O.J. Simpson. When they picked his jury, I said, “O.J.’s gonna walk, and be grand marshal of the Rose Parade next year.” I missed the parade part, but I did say he’d be acquitted. (DECEMBER 2006)
TB: When the election’s over, do you think you might consider a Western White House in Coronado?
Presidential candidate John McCain’s wife Cindy: Absolutely. I love Coronado. There’s nothing better than waking up and seeing the sun come up over the water on the bay there. And watching the Navy SEALs run up and down the beach. And walking along the beach and then watching the sun set over Point Loma. That’s a great way to live.
(AUGUST 2007)
TB: What’s the toughest part of your job? And have you made some enemies along the way?
Southeastern Economic Development Corporation president Carolyn Smith (who was recently forced to resign): Enemies? Oh, I’m sure I’ve made enemies. They don’t always show themselves to me, but I know they’re out there. Somebody’s always going to be upset about some decision you’ve made. But I’ve always said, if you want everybody to like you, then you need to go work in a childcare center.
(FEBRUARY 2008)
TB: What will you adjust so the Chargers are a team that can beat the Patriots next season?
Coach Norv Turner: We just have to keep growing. We’re so young. Even though there are guys who’ve played three, four, five years, we’re still one of the youngest teams in the league. . . . My gosh, our young players can get a lot better. . . . But we need to find a way to play at home in January.
(MARCH 2008)
TB: I have to ask about the name Mraz. Where does that come from? Seems like you’re missing a vowel or two.
Pop music sensation Jason Mraz: It’s Czech. My grandfather came over from Czechoslovakia in 1915, during the First World War. Unfortu - nately, when he got to the U.S., the family sort of split up, and the language was lost. Mraz means “frost.” But I like to think of it as meaning “cool”!
(NOVEMBER 2008)
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