Letters

FOR THE MEMORIES

What a wonderful walk down memory lane while reading “San Diego Magazine at 60” [by Thomas K. Arnold, October]. Your writer did a wonderful job of highlighting those 60 years.

I think I first subscribed in the late 1950s. At 85, it is difficult to remember such a momentous occasion. I do remember when I took an early 1960s issue to work that one of my coworkers sniffed at my “snob magazine.”

Lionel Van Deerlin, Harold Keen, Mary Harrington Hall and Roberta Ridgely were all my heroes. You had a “funky” illustrator named Mike something. I’ve desperately tried to remember his last name. Was it Dorman? I worked with Mike’s father in the mid-’50s at General Dynamics. He was a lovely little Englishman who had served for Her Majesty in India.

San Diego Magazine’s extensive dining section was my bible for gift certificates for nonprofit organizations’ opportunity tickets. I was a whiz at gathering thousands of dollars in certificates, thanks to the magazine.

I have had the pleasure of having many of my letters to the editor published. My last letter complaining about the absence of the crossword puzzle and a reduction in the dining section resulted in a call from editor-in-chief Tom Blair!

I’ve lived in San Diego since November 13, 1936, and I would not live anywhere else. San Diego Magazine keeps me apprised of what is going on in my favorite city. Keep going for another 60 years.

DORAINE B. OFFERMAN
PACIFIC BEECH

Let’s all keep going for at least another 60 years. You were close; the illustrator you recalled is Mike Dormer. He’s still at work in his Ocean Beach studio. You can find him at michaeldormer.com.——EDITOR

BOARD STIFF

Okay, Hollywood models aren’t like you and me. I get it. But shouldn’t your cover models be just a bit more reflective of the San Diego lifestyle? I’d bet a week’s pay your James Bond lookalike and his angry girlfriend [“A View to a Thrill,” September] came from Los Angeles central casting. Not a very inviting pair.

He looks stiff as a board. She looks like her makeup was spackled on by a union plasterer. Surely there are some pretty, happy, exciting San Diegans who’d be willing to pose for the cover of your San Diego Magazine. We’re so much more warm and friendly.

CHRISTINA GUTHRIE
OCEAN BEACH

TO YOUR HEALTH

A big thank you to Bob Rowland for making a complex subject understandable even to me [“Will We Live Forever?,” September]. Not sure I want to live to be 120——the way my 401(k) has been going south, I doubt I could ever afford it——but the work being done at Scripps Health on the human genome and aging is fascinating.

And what an obvious, but heretofore ignored, option for studying the science of longevity. Instead of looking at sick people and asking what makes them sick, the Scripps [Wellderly] study looks at people who are aging in good health and asks what makes them healthy.

Your poster boy for healthy aging, Forrest Adams, is an inspiration. Eighty-eight years old and still mowing his own lawn. Wonder if he’d like to come by my place and tackle my yardwork. I’m only 46, but I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed.

ANTON BLAKELY
DEL MAR

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Thanks for the insider info on restaurant bar dining [“Praising the Bar” by Maya Kroth, October]. I’m sure it’s a welcome service to single folks looking for a sense of community. But my wife and I appreciate it, too.

We’ve been married for 40 years, and we still have plenty to talk about. (She more than I, of course.) But we still enjoy eating at a fine restaurant that serves food at the bar. Over the years, we’ve made lasting friends that way——including friendships with restaurant servers and managers.

Our favorite these days: Avenue 5 near Balboa Park. Friendly patrons and employees. Excellent food. Terrific ambience. And for a welcome change, fine dining at fair prices.

REGGIE BERENSON
BANKERS HILL

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LETTERS WELCOME San Diego Magazine invites letters from its readers. Send comments to Letters to the Editor, San Diego Magazine, 1450 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101, or e-mail tblair@sandiegomagazine.com or fax 619-230-0490. Letters must be signed to be considered for publication. Please type or print your name, as well, and include a daytime phone number. E-mail should include the writer’s full name and city. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and to excerpt them.

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