On a lighter note :)

I was reading Susan's account of her experience with Wine in a Box and it brought back memories.

When I was in high school, I worked at a local restaurant called the King's Table Buffet. I tried to find a link, but it seems that they have all but vanished. It was a very busy place and I was a busboy and dishwasher. I made a few friends at this crazy place. We played some mean tricks on the elderly customers, but nothing too mean. Anyway, two of these friends moved to San Diego the year I started at Arizona State University. They wanted me to come.. and go to San Diego State. They were older, but they thought that the rent would be cheaper if it was split between 3 rather than just two. Anyway, their names were Robbie and Brian. They were a couple on and off, and when they left Arizona.. they were just friends. Robbie was a very loud girl, and she was extremely funny... she helped me to get out of my shell and both of them pushed me to enter in my schools talent contest.. which really did change my life.

Ok, so.. I would go to visit them and spend a month of the summer in San Diego. San Diego became my second home and I still love the city. I'll come back to that... but for now, it's my wine in a box story.

Well, on one of these trips to San Diego, my friend Brian was entered in an "over the line" tournament. I am sure that most of you haven't heard of Over the Line, but it is sort of like softball, without all the running around the bases. It's played on the beach in the sand and it's all about hitting and catching. Anyway... it's fun and the idea is to drink while you play.

Well, one of the guys on my friend's three person team didn't show up, so I was recruited to play. We showed up in Long Beach, with a Box of Wine (because you can't have bottles on the beach). One of the fun parts about the sport is that every team has a crazy name.. and they announce who is playing over a loud speaker. Our team was called the Volcanic Assholes.. and we had t-shirts that were.. well.. they were rude :) other teams of three were called... two hot dogs and a bun.. (a two man and one female team) and well.. you get the idea.. it's all about getting drunk and having a bit of fun. We practiced a little bit and when we came up to our first match we were seeded to play... the USC Trojans.. ha ha a joke about condoms right? Nope... these three guys we were playing.. played for the University of Southern California Baseball team. We got spanked... the score was something like 21-0 before we called it a day. I really think it was the wine in the box that made me play so bad..

Ok.. back to San Diego... a few years later in college, my best friend's parents had a 39 foot sailboat docked in San Diego. so again, I would spend summers out there and then even later, my mother and stepfather had a condo in Coronado and I would go out 2 or 3 times a summer and pretend to live in San Diego, for a weekend or a week.

I love San Diego and would move there in a heartbeat.... if it wasn't for my boys.. but you know.. as time goes on.. I do wonder if it would be better to have the boys for the summer.. let them be beach bums.. learn to surf.. etc.... hey.. it's a dream.. but you never know.. it's a very beautiful place.

Hey.. find me a job in San Diego!

Oh.. one more memory of San Diego.. I was there during the first day of the Gulf War. I was conducting a workshop.. now there is a story for another time.