Unexpected America: A Memoir by Wanjiru Warama

At the age of six, Wanjiru Warama [WAHN-jee-row Wa-RAH-Ma] had no knowledge of the world outside the Rift Valley in the East African British colony of Kenya. Her father was from the Kikuyu tribe, the largest ethnic group in the country and loyal to the British. He worked for a wealthy farm owner but only made enough money for his family to live in abject poverty. 

After World War II, it became increasingly difficult for European countries to maintain a colonial presence in Africa. Kenya was given its independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 after eight years of guerrilla warfare known as the Mau Mau Uprising from 1952 through 1960. Amidst this political and civil strife, Wanjiru was sent to Nairobi where she was fortunate enough to be enrolled in a school where she earned a high school diploma.

Realizing education and job training were her only avenues for social mobility and personal independence, Wanjiru was motivated to pursue a business degree from United States International University (USIU) in Naiorbi. Reasoning that opportunities were scarce in the capital city of Nairobi and wanting to expand her horizon, Wanjiru saved up enough money from her clerical job to finance the final year of her bachelor degree program and transfer to the USIU San Diego campus.

San Diego Festival of books--August 2017.

This is where Wanjiru Warama's memoir Unexpected America begins. Armed with a certified check made out to USIU for a year's expenses, a student visa, and a plane ticket, Wanjiru arrives to make her stake on the American Dream only to discover a culture shock beyond her imagination. Her naive view of America collides squarely with the harsh realities of being an immigrant, a minority, and a woman in America--compounded by being in one of the most competitive job markets in the United States, San Diego, California.

Told in straightforward prose with revealing candor, Wanjiru weaves her story of determination, hard work, and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds to establish herself as an American citizen. May her story be an inspiration to others who come to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-America-Wanjiru-Warama/dp/0998051306/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504469409&sr=1-1&keywords=Unexpected+America

The Old Globe Theatre Celebrating Eighty Years in San Diego

Conrad Prebys Theater Centre

San Diego's Old Globe Theater was originally built in 1935 as part of the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park. The building was saved from the wrecking ball in 1937 by a local community theater group for $10,000. The restoration of the theater was a labor of love for the volunteers who worked and performed there until the outbreak of World War II.

During the war years--and for several years afterward--the Globe's stage was dark, except for USO shows broadcast nationally and overseas on Armed Services Radio for the troops. It was not until 1949 that the Old Globe re-instituted its annual Shakespeare Festival with a production of Twelfth Night.

The Old Globe began hiring professional Equity Actors in1959 attracting top talent like Christopher Walken, Michael Learned, Christine Ebersole, Robert Foxwood, Christopher Reeve, and David Ogden Stiers to name only a few. The roll call of fine actors who have graced the Old Globe's stage reads like a Who's Who of American actors.

Arson fire destroyed the Old Globe building on March 8th, 1978. The loss of their beloved theater hit the San Diego community hard. But the show must go on! The play running at the time was relocated downtown to the Spreckle's Theater--so it could complete its run. An outdoor structure was quickly built on an adjacent canyon hillside which was ready for the Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival several months later.

The San Diego community rose to the call to rebuild the Old Globe. Fundraising events were held throughout San Diego ranging from blind auctions to Jazzercise marathons. Combined with business support and private endowment funding, the Old Globe was reborn in 1982. The state-of-the-art modern theater opened with a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It. 

Two years later, the temporary outdoor Festival Stage also fell victim to arson. It was immediately replaced with the 612 seat Lowell Davies Festival Theatre in 1985.

The Festival Stage

Today, the Conrad Prebys Theatre Centre includes the Old Globe Theatre, a proscenium arch stage; the Sheryl and Harvey White Theater, a theater-in-the-round stage; and the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, an outdoor amphitheater stage.

Built adjacent to the Old Globe are the box office, gift shop, administrative offices, and rehearsal halls. Lady Caroline's Pub lies between the White and the Festival theaters and helps frame the plaza welcoming a quarter of a million patrons to the complex annually.

In addition to Shakespeare's plays, the Old Globe produces a broad array of modern, classic, and original works. Fifteen plays hit the Globe's boards every year. Several of their debut productions have gone to Broadway winning Tony Awards. What began as a community theatrical enterprise has become a top-rated, nationally respected regional theater.

To contact the Old Globe in San Diego tap http://www.theoldglobe.org/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw2v2sBRCazKGu3tSFz64BEiQAKIE1hmAT8fN_kei9eY0LBpDNv1gexCXUY_dA-ZUbXkBCqZYaAnIW8P8HAQ

Preview scenes from this summer's 2015 Old Globe musical production of Kiss Me. Kate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTckOI2t21s 

Conan O'Brien Hosts Week of Comic-Con Shows from San Diego--July 8th-11th

The San Diego Comic-Con International--known simply as Comic-Con--is a four-day event held during the summer at the San Diego Convention Center in lovely Southern California. This year's event takes place July 9th-12th.

Three hundred comic book enthusiasts attended Comic-Con's first event held at the U.S. Grant hotel in 1970. Organizers soon discovered that working with groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Mythopoeic Society broadened its fan base and attracted a lot of new talent to their event. For the last several years, the gathering at the San Diego Convention Center has been at full capacity with 130,000 participants. The economic impact on San Diego is $180 million.

In the beginning, Comic-Con showcased primarily comic books and science fiction related items but soon expanded to include a wide range of pop culture including animation, anime, collectible memorabilia, video games, web comics, and fantasy merchandise.

Tony Stark makes an appearance at Comic-Con.

Popular sponsored events include panel discussions, seminars, and workshops with comic book artists and writers. There are feature film previews and an independent film festival for movies and shorts without a movie deal. Film and television personalities attend this convention to create a buzz about their upcoming projects and take full advantage of the extensive media exposure.

Comic-Con began awarding their Inkpot Award in 1974 to persons of interest in the Popular Arts industry. In 1988, organizers established the Will Eisner Award--named after the pioneering comic book writer and artist. Winners comprise the comic industry's Hall of Fame. Comic-Con has a large ballroom for exhibitors and an Artists' Alley for autographs and photo-ops from artists, writers, and celebrities.

Tigra

One of the standout features of Comic-Con are the costumes worn by many of the participants and the masquerade contest to determine the year's best. The spectacle is nothing less than Halloween on steroids. No shortage of superheroes, villains, plum smugglers, and buxom beauties.

The San Diego gathering is the Mecca of Geekdom. This year, their king--Conan O'Brien--will host a week of shows from San Diego's historic Spreckles Theatre. Rather than beginning the week with Monday and Tuesday night shows, Conan's week will begin Wednesday night and run through Saturday. Episodes will air on TBS at 11:00 PM nationwide and across their mobile and digital platforms the following day.

Conan O'Brien

Guests already announced are the casts of The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead. Saturday night's line-up is a secret--making me think it might be the cast of next year's Batman v Superman. I'll have to tune-in to find out.

Comic-Con is suffering from its own success and has outgrown the present San Diego Convention Center facility. Because of overcrowding, organizers have capped attendance since 2007. In October 2013, the San Diego Coastal Commission approved a $520 million expansion to add another 225,000 square feet to the facility. 

A new 80,000 square foot ballroom is planned, and a second tower will be added to the Hilton Bayfront Hotel adjacent to the convention center increasing its capacity by 500 rooms. Comic-Con is expected to remain in San Diego for many years to come.

http://teamcoco.com/comiccon

Comic-Con 2015 is already sold out, so begin planning for 2016. Information about obtaining an authorized Member I.D. number and purchasing tickets for next year's event can be found at this link:  http://www.comic-con.org/cci/purchase-badges

Twelfth Night--Gender Bending at The Old Globe in San Diego

The Old Globe Theater's opening night of Twelfth Night--Shakespeare's gender bending romantic comedy--couldn't have been more timely given the recent Gay Marriage Supreme Court ruling. With the GLBT banner waving from the California Tower in Balboa Park, these talented actors--under the skillful direction of Rebecca Taichman--brought that madness we call love, in all its ridiculous splendor, to the outdoor Festival Stage in San Diego.
 

My wife and I attended an Old Globe fund raising dinner before the show with many of San Diego's theater glitterati in attendance, not least of whom was Marion Ross of Happy Days fame. Miss Ross is a local San Diego girl who first appeared on the Old Globe Festival stage in 1949 as Olivia in Twelfth Night. Miss Ross was seated directly in front of us and intently focused on the performance. I caught her quietly reciting the lines a couple of times.

As she was walking up the aisle at play's end, I offered her my arm for the long trek up the stairs. She smiled and said, "Please."

I'm hear to tell you that Mrs. C. is just as charming in person as she was when she appeared in America's living rooms with Richie and the Fonze.

For still photographs from the performance, check this link: 
https://www.facebook.com/TheOldGlobe/photos/ms.c.eJxd0MkJwEAMQ9GOgj1e1X9jgVzC~;OtDyMJuXhE9vV2pKHv8l2hKdd4yGRQVZJc9at0ZWc6dUdhhZg0ZE~_VoKc6ebKeE87qwWTUFSXFz5aC52iAdvD7FhRP8zw4zG0nJ~_~;Njfr7NLxxZYgM~-.bps.a.10153315337154350.1073741897.8498549349/10153367686549350/?type=1&theater

San Diego's 2015 Gator-by-the-Bay Zydeco and Blues Festival

2015 Gator-by-the-Bay poster and T-shirt art

Every Mothers' Day weekend for the last thirteen years, San Diego has been home to the Gator-by-the-Bay Festival-held at Spanish Landing on San Diego Bay. This year's event is May 7-10th. Michael Doucet & Beausoleil concert is scheduled for Thursday night, and a Gator at Night dance is on Friday--but the real action takes place over the weekend--May 9th and 10th.

Five stages host zydeco and Cajun music as well as blues, swing, rock, country, and jazz. National, regional, and local musicians enjoy performing at Gator-by-the-Bay because of the beautiful venue and the lively crowds. Free dance lessons are given throughout Saturday and Sunday in partner dances and line dances. Especially welcome are the large, shaded, wooden dance floors located at each end of the festival site.

This is a Mothers' Day, family friendly event with arts and craft activities for kids, assorted vendors, and over twenty food booths. Festival organizers ship in 10,000 pounds of fresh crawfish from Louisiana for the weekend and boil them right there with potatoes and corn on the cob. The Gator-by-the-Bay Festival typically draws up to 12,000 people, and a good time is had by all. 

"Laissez les bon temps roulez!"


For more information, check out this link: http://www.sandiegofestival.com/

San Diego, California 's Annual OMBAC Over-the-Line Tournament

The Over the Line (OTL) tournament began in 1954 when members of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) organized their first event--their motto was Booze, Babes, and Beach Boys. These basic ingredients haven't changed much over the decades.

OTL began as a local San Diego County beach competition, but it has grown into what it is now, an international event with over 1,200 teams competing. The OTL tournament has become San Diego's most iconic and largest summer venue attracting over 60,000 spectators and participants to Fiesta Island in beautiful Mission Bay over the second and third weekends of July.

This year's 62nd Annual World Championship will be held July 11/12 and July 18/19, 2015. The tournament has both a men's and women's division. Each division is broken into age categories. The men's categories include: Open, Century, Canardly, Cannever, Cadaver, and Camummy. The women's categories include: Open, Century, Caneasy, and Canalways.

OTL is a bat and ball game played out on the sand--though a beach is not a necessity. It requires only three players per team: the batter and the hitter are on the same team. The fielders (other team) stand behind the line in fair territory. The pitcher tosses an official game ball up and the batter swings at it with a softball bat. If the ball is hit into fair territory without a fielder catching it, a run is scored. A hit can also be scored when a fielder drops the ball in fair or foul territory. Base running is not a feature of this game. Women use softball gloves, and men can use golf gloves.

An OTL court is laid out with rope staked into the sand. At one end of the court is a triangle whose longest edge is 55' (17meters) called The Line. The point of the triangle called Home is 55' from The Line. The pitcher and the batter both work from there. Parallel ropes mark the Fair Territory which extends as far as a ball can travel. Three fielders position themselves within Fair Territory.

An out is made if the ball is hit in the triangle, the batter swings and misses, the fielders catch the ball, the batter has two fouls, or a player bats out of order. As with baseball and softball, three outs ends a team's inning at the plate.

Runs are scored after the third hit in an inning and each hit after that. A home run is a hit that lands past the furthest fielder from the line--not over, just past--without being touched by the fielder. The batter scores a run and all of the unscored hits that preceded the homerun.

The tournament has a history of being a Bacchanalian orgy with distinct sexual overtones. The team names pride themselves on their consummate vulgarity.  Local news stations report on the event but can't announce the team names over the air. Major news stories from the previous year are also the subject of comic team names.

Miss Emerson contestants from yesteryear.

The Miss Emerson contest is a favorite sidebar attraction for the male horn-dawgs in the crowd. Young adult women shed their tops--behind a cordoned-off area--in exchange for an official OTL T-shirt. At the awards ceremony, the new Miss Emerson is crowned and given a bouquet of flowers. The derivation of the Miss Emerson title started as a bad knock-knock joke that can be found in the link below--along with a listing of men's and women's team names from 2011.

Over recent years--to gain more wide-spread municipal support for the event--the bawdy atmosphere has been toned down somewhat to emphasize the sport rather than the spectacle. OMBAC has instituted the Seven Bs: 

1. No Bottles
2. No Bicycles
3. No Bowzers (dogs)
4. No Babies
5. No Boas (snakes)
6. No Bad Attitudes
7. No Battles (fights)

OTL is taken seriously by the players, many of whom have been competing for decades. Most people in attendance come to drink beer and enjoy the scenery. Organizers state up front that this is an adult event inappropriate for children.

OTL video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHcEmUM4w3s

Warning! Explicit 2011 OTL team names:  http://vicejunkies.com/continents/north_america/united_states/california/san_diego/over_the_line_tournament.html

Mother's Day Gator by the Bay Festival in San Diego

On Mother's Day weekend, for longer than I can remember, San Diego, California has been home to the Gator by the Bay Festival.

This year's Zydeco, Blues and Crawfish Festival is May 8th through the 11th. This annual joyous celebration of spring blossoms forth at Spanish Landing Park on Harbor Island along San Diego Bay. An outdoor venue doesn't get much better than this.

Don't be afraid to bring the kids and grandma and grandpa too if he behaves himself. If you love good music, fun dancing, and Louisiana food, dust off your dancing shoes, throw on some Mardi Gras beads, and join us for a great weekend.

"Laissez les bon temp rouler!"

For detailed information on this year's schedule and the musical performers line up, check out the official GBTB website:
http://www.gatorbythebay.com/

Photographic History Brought Back To Life

Will Holland and friend - 1925

In 1925, Will Holland stopped into a photography shop with a friend and had a novelty photograph taken. He and my grandmother had immigrated from Tennessee to Detroit in the 1920s looking for work. 

One of the first jobs he was able to find was driving a truck, running bootleg liquor from Canada throughout the Detroit area for a group of Irish entrepreneurs. In the winter, he would drive across the frozen Detroit River to make pickups and deliveries.

My grandfather gave this photograph to my mother before he died in the late 1930s. Not much is known about him because my grandparents were divorced, and my grandmother attempted to purge all memory of him from her life. My mother kept the photograph of her father secretly hidden.

When my mother passed on several years ago, I received the photograph in an envelope with some more recent family photos. I tucked the envelope away for safe keeping and forgot about it until last week when I was looking for something else.

The quality of the photo really deteriorated. It had gone from bad to worse. Not only had it faded over the decades, it had turned brown and the photo paper was beginning to separate. I decided to see if it could be restored because I wanted to preserve this bit of family history and make prints for the rest of the family.

I discovered the name of a local San Diego photo restorer from an ad on Facebook and gave him a call. Paul Hartsuyker is a retired Mesa College professor who has taught Photoshop workshops for twenty years. After he retired, he decided to go pro. See the link.

Restored photograph

I was able to sit next to him while he explained what he was doing.

"Digitally manipulating an antique photograph is an exercise in give and take. For example, do you sacrifice detail for contrast and brightness?"

He went back and forth like an optometrist, "Do you like this one or this one?" He allowed me to make decisions as he worked on the photo.

I was quite pleased with the result. I would have liked more clarity, but there was only so much that the original had to give. This picture freezes a moment in time and captures a gag snapshot which is one of my most cherished family photographs.

http://www.hartworks.net/photorestore/offer.htm 

My Lost Hollywood Interview

Over two years ago, I did an interview in Los Angeles at a Hollywood hotel. It was the first time I was asked to do a video interview, and I was excited about it.

I drove up from San Diego and somehow managed to get a great parking space in back of the place. I cinched up my tie and looked for my contact person in the lobby. 

She took several of us up to a hotel suite set up as a makeshift studio. One part of of the suite was set up with the camera man and the interviewer; the other part was set up as a waiting area (green room) with snacks and drinks and a half dozen authors.

One of the authors who was also a booking agent was holding court when I arrived. Her project was about Spiritual Cleansing or something like that. She sucked all of the oxygen out of the room until it was time for her interview. 

Then there was the math professor from Cal Poly who was promoting a college textbook he had written. He launched into a discussion of chaos theory.

One by one, the others did their interviews in the other room and were led out by that exit. Finally, it was just me and a solidly-built, blonde, thirty-something woman waiting for our turn. 

"Who are you? She asked me.

"Oh, I'm Joe Nobody."

She laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. What's your book about?"

I gave her the Reader's Digest version of my novel, Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel, and my business card.

"Tell me about your book," I said.

"It's about my experiences in ladies' roller derby."

"Fascinating."

That helped explain her general muscle tone and solid build. She went on to say that she appeared in the feature film, Whip It, with Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, and Drew Barrymore. Her name was Ari Graynor.

Now it was her turn to leave and be interviewed. I was alone.

Finally! Mine must have been the last shoot of the day. I settled into the chair and prepared to talk about my novel when the interviewer asked me about converting a novel into a stage play. 

What? He was either tired, unprepared, or had me mixed up with someone else. Anyway, I made the best of it. "That's show business," I thought.

I left feeling like I had wasted my time. When the producers didn't get back with me, I felt that the interview had gone badly, so I didn't follow up. Then today, it appeared in my gmail with an apology for letting it slip through the cracks. For what it's worth, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7rZBXZly8A

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! Now playing at San Diego's Globe Theater in Balboa Park

Saw this with my daughter and granddaughter on Saturday. If you are in the San Diego area this holiday season, catch this show. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.theoldglobe.org/?gclid=CNnq_5Xe67MCFaGPPAod9Q0Akg

20th Anniversary of Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

September 16, 2012, marks the 20th anniversary of the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. When it opened in 1992, it was three times larger than its predecessor, Scripps Aquarium, which operated for forty-one years next to the Scripps Pier.

The mission of Birch Aquarium at Scripps is to provide ocean science education, to interpret Scripps Institution of Oceanography research, and to promote ocean conservation.

Nestled comfortably between the University of California and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Birch Aquarium overlooks the famous Scripps Pier with La Jolla Shores to the south and Torrey Pines to the north.

My granddaughter and I spend an enjoyable afternoon there yesterday. Besides learning about the local sea life off our Pacific Coast from the Northwest to Baja, there are hands-on exhibits on energy conservation, climate change, and innovative energy resources that were quite interesting.

The most striking feature of this aquatic science complex is the huge floor to ceiling Kelp Forest Tank which houses many species of local marine life, weaving in and out of amber forests of kelp. The Kelp beds, off the Southern Californian coast, provide shelter and habitat for hundreds of species of marine life as this massive tank demonstrates.

What seems to be the most popular attraction for everyone at Birch is Tide-Pool Plaza. Many life forms found in tidal pools along our San Diego coastline are concentrated in an accessible, hands-on, outdoors exhibit built on a deck that overlooks the grandeur of the Pacific Ocean.

If you find yourself in the San Diego area, this is an affordable and lovely way to spend an afternoon. For more information, check the link:
aquarium.ucsd.edu

Santee Lakes - Best Staycation in Santee, California

Santee, California, is located eighteen miles west of La Jolla, just east of the foothills. True, we don't have the Pacific ocean, but we do have the Santee Lakes. What began as a grey water reclamation project for irrigation quickly evolved into a recreation and campground facility which was opened to the public in 1961. This spring, The Santee Patch, a local activities website, ran a poll naming Santee Lakes "The Best Staycation" in East County.

Park and Recreation supervisor, Cindy Smith, is excited about the park renovations made over the last several years. There is a sidewalk that circuits four of the lakes in the "day use" part of the park, which local walkers and moms with strollers make daily use of, as well as children learning to ride their bikes. There are three new picnic shelters under construction, and a new playground is being built on Lake 1 to supplement the modern playground between Lakes 3 and 4 built five years ago.

Ms. Smith proudly reports that the Santee Lakes staff  has an aggressive facility improvement blueprint called the 21/21 Plan that will position the park for continued success in the twenty-first century. There are twenty-one projects planned at an estimated combined cost of ten million dollars.

Admission to the park is $3 per car on weekdays and $5 on the weekends. Fishing is a popular pastime with youngsters and adults alike. Several of the lakes are stocked regularly with trout and catfish. A one day adult permit for ages 16 and over is $9/day, while a junior permit is $6/day. An annual permit is also available for avid fisherman.

A kid favorite at the park is the Sprayground. This recent addition is a great way for children under thirteen to beat the summer heat. A $2 wrist band for each child can be purchased from the entrance kiosk. Paddle boats and canoes are available for rental at the General Store and can be found on Lake 5. Picnic areas are popular and can be reserved for family use or for group events. They get heavy use on the weekends. The park also has something that reminds me of my youth - horseshoe pits.

Santee Lakes also provides overnight and weekly recreational vehicle and tent sites which get steady use from out of town visitors and "snowbirds" in the winter. Three floating cabins and seven lakefront cabins, built last year on Lake 7, have become so popular that there is a six month waiting list for reservations, so plan ahead.

To contact Santee Lakes, call (619) 596-3141 or email them at www.santeelakes@padre.org. Check out their link below for more information.

http://santeelakes.com/

  

Spectacular Panorama - California Brush Fire

San Diego - 2007

I found a site with nothing but 360 degree panoramic shots of an incredible range of eye-popping subjects. The video linked below will connect you with the site. I chose a shot from the Redondo Beach fire as an example. Our California conflagrations are legendary, and so are the firefighters who battle them.

In late October 2007, half of San Diego County was on fire. After a hot, difficult week of trying to control the blazing inferno, two fire trucks pulled up my street on Halloween night and parked in front of my house while the kids were trick-or-treating. A crowd of excited kids and wary neighbors gathered expecting to be evacuated.

The firefighters, many with children of their own, couldn't be home with their kids. Six or seven of them in firefighting gear climbed off their trucks holding their helmets upside down, each brimming with candy. Weary and worn, they worked their way through the crowd handing out candy. It was a touching scene I'll never forget. We love our firefighters!

http://www.panoramas.dk/US/california-wildfire.html

2012 Gator-By-The-Bay Zydeco and Blues Festival

There isn't a holiday or event I look forward to more every year than the Gator-By-the-Bay Festival, held each Mother's Day weekend for many years now at Spanish Landing on San Diego Bay. Hosted by the Bon Temps Social Club, the organizers have created a music and dance event that continues to improve as the fame and the popularity of the festival spreads.

The crowd includes people from all around the United States who love dancing to Creole and Cajun music or who just love listening to great live entertainment. This is a well-organized family friendly event with something for everyone.

Zydeco music is fun and easy to dance along to. Why? Because there are no zydeco police. Can't dance? Nonsense! The weekend is cram packed with free lessons located conveniently between the two main dance floor stages.

One of the main stages is for zydeco and Cajun music and the other serves up a variety of blues groups. If you don't think people dance much anymore - you really have to come here. Lessons in West Coast Swing and Jitterbug are also available throughout the day Saturday and Sunday.

If you are in the San Diego area this weekend or coming into town to visit dear old mum, bring her to the Gator Festival. Great food, colorful vendors, lovely San Diego weather, plenty of liquid refreshments, and one of the liveliest rites of spring you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else.

For more information and the talent lineup, check out the link below:
http://www.gatorbythebay.com/ 

"Unconditional Surrender" in San Diego?

For the last several years, J. Seward Johnson's twenty-five foot tall statue, "Unconditional Surrender" has graced Tuna Harbor Park in San Diego, California.

Dubbed "The Kiss" by locals, the statue commemorates the famous Life magazine - Alfred Eisenstaedt - photograph of the spontaneous kiss a young nurse received from an unknown sailor in Times Square, New York, on August 14th, 1945, V-J Day.  World War Two was finally over - the Japanese had surrendered.

The statue is nestled near the shoreline on San Diego Bay between the historic aircraft carrier, the USS Midway, on the north and Seaport Village to the south.


"Unconditional Surrender" has become dear to the hearts of San Diego locals and of Navy personnel everywhere who have shipped out of this Navy port. Now, the statue is in danger of being moved to another city as per the city's lease agreement.

Interested parties are trying to find a way to keep what has become an iconic landmark in San Diego. There is talk that another statue could be cast in bronze, but I personally like the painted statue. It makes a great photo opportunity for tourists and locals alike. I took this shot from the deck of the Midway.