In response to the letter by Skip Tindle (“Asks answers to other writer’s tough questions,” Jan. 24 edition, page 6), perhaps a little clarification is needed of what I wrote the previous week.
Let me iterate that I have lived in Ocean Beach since 1962. Mr. [Skip] Tindle’s comment, “If Mr. Griswold had grown up here “¦,” is not accurate. I did, in fact, grow up here and am a third-generation OB resident.
As far as comparing the experiences of his formative years, I can tell you that I literally grew up on the sands of Ocean Beach. I most assuredly know what OB looked like “through the eyes of a little kid.” Though I don’t doubt Mr. Tindle may have had troubling experiences when he was young, they were his, not mine. Perhaps he meant to say that that I lack the perspective of what OB looks like through the eyes of his little kids, which would be entirely true.
My hat is off to anyone as concerned about their children as Mr. Strong and Mr, Kindle seem to be, but that was not the issue I wrote about.
Let me make it clear: I was addressing Mr, [Todd] Strong’s wildly imaginative and derogatory characterization of the [Ocean Beach Town] Council and Ocean Beach in general, not his ballyhoo over whether or not any [beach alcohol ban] poll was accurate and certainly not his right to look out for his kids. (To wit, the first sentence of my letter: “I feel compelled to write, not in defense of the Town Council, but in opposition of Mr. Strong’s characterization of them, and more importantly, the community itself.”)
Insofar as “addressing the questions of Mr. Strong” relating to a council matter, as I had stated that I had no affiliation with the Ocean Beach Town Council, how could I possibly address his questions about council policy?
In Mr. Tindle’s letter, he infers that I wrote that the Town Council did not take a position against the arrival [of] Starbucks and Wings. This is another misrepresentation. I wrote that the Town Council did not organize protests. It was in response to Mr. Strong’s comment, “Finally, to the folks on the Town Council, why don’t you go and hold another protest in front of Starbucks?” While their opposition to the arrival of Starbucks and Wings doesn’t surprise me, he insinuated that they had held a protest. In response, I wrote “it was regular residents of this community that organized and voiced their opposition “¦ .”
I was simply pointing out that they did not organize protests, not whether or not they took a position on the matter (which they have every right to anyway).
Literally every reference to my letter was misrepresented, whether intentionally or not, by Mr. Tindle. I encourage Mr. Tindle and others to visit the Beacon’s Web site, https://test.sdnews.com, if they would like to reread the letter (enter search “Tom Griswold”).
Rather than continue the smarmy tone (including my own), let’s go back to the beginning. Mr. Short, you’re upset about the [town] council’s poll. I was upset about how you voiced your opinion. And it seems that Mr. Tindle misinterpreted my letter, or was upset about the tone or content. Regardless, let’s cut bait.
OB is not yours and not mine. Not now, not ever. It’s that space in the middle. It’s ours.
Tom Griswold
Ocean Beach