It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let ’em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.
Donald Trump, 10/5/26
I came to age in San Diego. Today I heard what had been said yesterday by the president, and I have been flooded with memories all day. This is the San Diego that I remember.
I remember sitting on Point Loma, between Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and the lighthouse, on a beautiful summer day, watching a stream of naval ships sail out of the harbor, past the point, and into the Pacific Ocean. The South Bay stretched out before me, and I could see Coronado Island where my sister used to work as a civil servant, where I learned to drive, and where I went to parties on the beach as a teenager. I could almost see to the south of the bay were I once lived and went to high school in Imperial Beach. I could see the submarines moored along the point, the ships at the docks, and the shipyards along the bay. I remember.
I remember Balboa Park, the Zoo, the Presidio, and the Mission. I remember walking through Old Town and buying churros from a vendor on the street. I remember the Embarcadero and touring the USS Midway there with my son. I remember attending theater in the park. I remember the rich history and cultural heritage of San Diego. I remember.
I remember flying into the city, swooping over the city and freeways right before touching down at the airport. I remember the take offs, the planes clawing their way into the sky above Shelter Island and the point. I remember.
I remember the years at the University of California, San Diego where I received my biology degree. I remember how beautiful the campus was. I remember the eucalyptus trees and swallows. I remember all of my incredible experiences there, and I remember the wonderful friends that I had. I remember the cove in La Jolla, the pier at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and I remember dragging my son out of the surf at La Jolla Shores. I remember living in student housing, watching jet fighters screaming west towards the ocean after taking off from Miramar Naval Air Station. I remember.
I remember working in a research lab in La Jolla after graduation, and jogging past the biotechnology centers and the Salk Institute on my lunch hour. I remember coming out of the building at sunset, the hang gliders sailing above me as they flew in the updraft from the oceanside cliffs to the west. I remember.
I remember going with my mother to University Hospital in San Diego for a consultation to see if she qualified for inclusion in an experimental cancer treatment program. I remember.
I remember sitting by my mother’s grave on a hillside in San Diego, under a podocarpus tree with wind chimes hanging from it. All around me were the hills and valleys of the San Diego valley. I remember.
I remember a swanky hotel along the harbor, a weekend running wild with my cousin and aunt, attending a beautiful wedding for my niece at a country club, the lights of the city in the hills around us. I remember.
I used to be a biology teacher in a large high school. I remember one particular homecoming assembly in the gym there, the wild energy pulsing through the air as I climbed the bleachers towards the top of the gym, the students a crazed, screaming wave around me, confetti in the air, pounding music and glitter everywhere. I remember the student body president on the floor, a young man of 17 with incredible presence, announcing the class standings of the spirit week contest. At one point in the celebrations, as the winning class was announced, the collected freshman class began booing.
That student body president, without hesitation, stopped them. “No,” he said. “We don’t boo. We cheer for our own teams, but we never boo others, because we are ALL PROUD RAIDERS.”
And there it is. We are all Americans together. We push for our agendas, seek to persuade others to share our beliefs, and cheer for our own team; never, ever, should we accept the loss of an American city to be a small price to pay.
Never.
Because we are ALL. PROUD. AMERICANS. Together.
Vote, my good people. Vote.
Thanks for your essay. I enjoyed reading about your memories and feel you made your point well at the end. Now, how can we interest Reuters in picking it up and spreading its message? I know, send it to The Guardian in London. I’ll bet they’d print it on their editorial page.
Reuters! Holy Smokes, you dream big!
I thought about making a bigger point about the amazing example of positive leadership that I saw that morning on the floor of a packed, manic gym. I do hope that people understand the contrast between that student, and what we see and hear every single day from the current leader of our nation. I am an American citizen, my family fought the American Revolution, and I am tired of being threatened and called names.
The same here on both counts. Since there is no DAR newspaper or Sons of the American Revolution newspaper, that’s out. The DAR “Portico” is mostly news about what the various DAR chapters are doing, so that’s not an option, either.
I still think you should submit your essay to a news outlet because it’s from the heart without being maudlin or inflammatory. I can see it being published in either a conservative, a moderate, or a liberal newspaper or other source. Why not start big and go from there. Let us know how it goes if you do. What do you have to lose?
I’ve been pretty disappointed with the DAR. The chapter in my area isn’t really very productive.
Maybe I should send it to my congressman, Jason Crow?
Try that, but I’d send it to multiple people/places/venues and not put all your eggs in one basket.
Please let us know how it goes.
Well said – thank you!
You are welcome.
Excellent, moving statement!
Thank you!
Beautifully written. I also went to UCSD and have fond memories of San Diego and La Jolla.
Yay, another UCSD person!!!! I was going to mention the library, but wanted to avoid the obvious, tourist website stuff in my post. I loved the watermelon drop (Revelle College girl here!) and then there were the tamales on Cinco de Mayo…
I lived the library, though. I was Warren College.
I was always amazed at the sight of the library emerging into sight as I walked towards it through the eucalyptus trees. Unfortunately, most of my study groups met at the library at Revelle. I remember getting great teriyaki at a place in the trees by that library. Good times!!!
Oooh, remember the Coop? I had my first Ethiopian food there.
He won’t have such delightfulul memories about anything
P.S. Why not contact the Australian woman who’s commented here from time to time? I believe she is/was a writer and might have way better suggestions than I about sending your essay into the mainstream.
I think she lost all patience with me when I went dark for several weeks as I struggled through my low oxygen and fatigue struggles after catching some evil virus in March. I need to remember to be more responsible.
Thank you for sharing your memories from a beautiful place and time. My sister lived in Chula Vista for many years, so we visited often.
I’m out of words to describe this dangerous man and his equally dangerous cronies.
Arms around you and thank you for your lovely and heartfelt essay.
I lived in Chula Vista for a year!! I had to commute to UCSD for classes, and boy was that a drive! When we were able to get into student housing things were better.
Thank you for the positive feedback. I’m always a little nervous putting myself out there.
I spent about ten days in San Diego the summer before my senior year in high school, the purpose being to visit several colleges in the area. My aunt and uncle lived out on Point Loma, overlooking the bay. I remember watching those Navy ships sailing out every morning (magnificent!), and got to tour a submarine while I was there. And the zoo, that world-famous zoo. Headed up to LA one day to see schools up there, but the smog was so bad I was nearly blind before we got to any campus. Still, San Diego and the coast up to La Jolla were truly memorable.
I was so surprised to see the submarines right there on the bayside of Point Loma. I never knew they were there before. I love the zoo so much! My sister gave me an annual pass to the zoo, and I would take my son out there frequently on outings.
The smog in LA also hit me hard: burning eyes and making it hard to breathe. I understand that it is much better now. I don’t think that everyone understands how important the clean air act is/was.
La Jolla is probably my favorite place in the world, and I was so lucky to go to school and work there. Then head of the lab took a position at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, moved the lab, and I ended up in Boulder, Colorado: the second-best place in the world!